Travelers line up in front of a check-in counter at Incheon International Airport's Terminal 1 in this April 12 file photo. Yonhap

By Park Jae-hyuk

Korean Air and CJ CGV are facing complaints from some of their employees, due to their reluctance to build up their workforces, despite the country's moves to transition to managing COVID-19 as endemic, according to industry officials, Wednesday.

Amid the rapidly increasing number of air travelers and cinema audiences in recent weeks, their employees pointed out that continuous overwork resulting from a staffing shortage could even cause problems with taking care of customers in case of emergency.

"Korean Air has resumed services that had been simplified during the pandemic, but it has yet to expand its cabin crews," a Korean Air employee wrote last month on Blind, an anonymous chat app for verified employees. "Because there are not enough flight attendants to guard the emergency exits, it is difficult for us to cope with air rage, medical patients and other emergency situations."

Data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed that the number of international air travelers rose 259.8 percent year-on-year to 644,000 last month, following the introduction of the quarantine exemption for fully vaccinated arrivals.

Incheon International Airport also said that the average number of daily passengers soared to 29,298 between May 5 and 8, up 347.4 percent from the previous year.

"We do not want passengers to use Korean Air for their safety and comfortable flights," another Korean Air employee said.

The air carrier refuted the claims of its employees, although it confirmed that it is difficult to let all of its employees return to work until the number of inbound and outbound international flights is restored to pre-pandemic levels.

Last month, the government said that it will help restore the workforce to 50 percent of the 2019 level by the end of this year.

"We have managed our flights without any problems with passenger safety and services," a Korean Air spokesperson said.

A moviegoer holds a box of popcorn at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul in this April 25 file photo. Yonhap

CJ CGV employees also criticized the company's management for not increasing its workforce, claiming that they would be unable to evacuate crowded theaters in case of fire.

"Before the COVID-19 pandemic, each branch had six to seven regular employees, along with at least 20 part-time workers," a CJ CGV employee wrote on Blind. "But now, only three regular employees are working in three shifts."

Some customers also complained about the cinema chain's services on Children's Day last week, as they had to wait for a long time to get popcorn and beverages.

According to the Korean Film Council, the number of cinema audience members between May 2 and 8 reached 4.21 million, up 335 percent from the previous week.

In addition to the eased social distancing measures, the release of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the latest movie in the Marvel series, brought more people to theaters.

CJ CGV promised that it will reinforce its personnel as soon as possible, saying that the larger-than-expected number of moviegoers caused problems at some of its branches.

"We will hire additional part-time workers to support our branches," the company said.