Korean Air, the nation’s largest air carrier, dismissed a pilot who refused to work overtime citing the company’s protocol that bans them from operating flights more than 12 hours a day, according to a group of unionized workers Wednesday.

The pilot, surnamed Park, landed in Manila from Incheon on Feb. 21 and was scheduled to operate a returning flight after a recess. But as the operation to Manila took longer than scheduled, he refused to fly the returning flight saying it violates the company’s policy.

Korean Air said Park had delayed the Incheon-Manila flight on purpose by conducting an air mission briefing -- a mandatory session taken before passengers board the plane -- three times longer than usual.

Park denied the claim and said that after refusing to fly he introduced another pilot to keep the flight schedule. 

The case is the latest in a series of confrontations between Korean Air and its pilots over wage disputes.

Korean Air offered a 1.9 percent increase while the pilots demanded a 37 percent increase, saying their salaries are lower than that of other Asian air carriers.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)