By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter


Asiana Airlines is offering free tickets on domestic flights tomorrow as part of an apology to passengers who were inconvenienced by the pilots’ strike.

The airline said Tuesday that it will normalize domestic services on Thursday. During the walkout, which started July 17, all domestic flights, except for some heading to and from Cheju Island, were canceled.

The strike ended on Aug. 10 when the government invoked its emergency power to intervene in the labor dispute at the nation’s second biggest airline.

``We will offer free trips on domestic routes on which flights were cancelled during the walkout as a pledge to provide better service to customers who suffered inconveniences,’’ an Asiana manager said.

It is the first time that the carrier has offered free services to apologize for a strike. It is also a rare occurrence worldwide.

A total of 67 flights on all domestic routes, except for the Cheju lines, will be available free but passengers have to pay 4,000 won in airport tax.

From Friday to Sunday, the carrier will also give a 30 percent discount on flights on those routes. Passengers who have already reserved tickets for those flights can get a refund of 30 percent. International routes that had a reduced number of flights _ Los Angeles, Sydney, Singapore and Bangkok _ will not be completely normalized until the end of this month.

``We are trying to normalize all services as soon as we can. But we need to ensure safety and unionized pilots are still fatigued from the long strike,’’ the manager said.

Some 170 pilots have taken safety training since Monday, and 40 others per day will receive the training until Aug. 21 in preparation for full-scale operation.

Asiana resumed the operation of cargo flights to Frankfurt last Sunday and the service will be fully normalized on Sunday.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr