Korean Air to align pilots’ safety standards ahead of integration

[Financial News] Ahead of the launch of the merged airline, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will align their pilots’ safety standards and strengthen communication between their organizations.
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines announced on the 12th that they had held an Integration Pilot Safety Meeting at Korean Air’s headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Held under the theme “Absolute Safety, Achieved as One,” the meetings will take place 22 times in total, from that day through November 13. All flight crew members from both airlines are expected to attend.
The meeting was organized to reaffirm their shared mission of safe flight operations and reduce differences in organizational culture shaped by their distinct operating environments. The two airlines will strengthen teamwork and share plans for operations after integration, based on “mutual respect” and “horizontal communication,” values pursued by the merged Korean Air.
They will also review flight procedures and training methods revised to meet the standards of the merged airline. To establish a unified safety standard in day-to-day operations, the two airlines plan to proactively identify even minor differences in their flight procedures.
The airlines will also share the principle of non-punishment for reporting human error through key cases discussed by the in-house Just Culture Committee. Korean Air operates a “just culture” in which employees voluntarily report simple mistakes made in the course of their work and use those reports to improve systems and the working environment. This approach allows flight crew members to report errors without fear of punishment and uses those reports to support safety management.
Kim Hae-ryong, head of Korean Air’s Flight Operations Division, emphasized, “Mutual respect and open communication are the most powerful safety tools Korean Air has built over decades.” He added, “Building on Korean Air’s already proven advanced safety culture, the crews of both airlines will fully integrate as one team (One Team), establishing it as a global airline that passengers around the world can choose with the greatest confidence.”
[email protected] Jeong Won-il Reporter