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The Labor Ministry yesterday authorized the formation of a union by Korean Air pilots, narrowly averting what would have been the nation's first ever strike by pilots.

The ministry issued a certificate to the Cockpit Crew Trade Union, composed of some 1,200 KAL pilots, which gave it official union status. The move came after a last-minute meeting of government officials that ended early yesterday morning.

KAL pilots accordingly put off plans to participate in yesterday's general strike by members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

The ministry had been reviewing the request by pilots to authorize their previously outlawed union since Monday, when Korean Air management announced that pilots would no longer be regarded as "special detail police."

The designation of KAL pilots as police officers, which came in the wake of hijackings of KAL planes by North Koreans in the early 70's, was the main stumbling block to the formation of an official trade union.

Pilots also blamed the longstanding ban on unionization for creating poor working conditions, which they claimed led to a string of accidents in recent years.

The ministry delayed announcing its decision on the union to make certain that its authorization of the Cockpit Crew Trade Union did not contravene an existing labor law. The law bans the existence of more than two unions at a single company whose memberships overlap.

Meanwhile, the eleventh-hour decision on the fate of the union led to the cancellation of five domestic flights yesterday morning as some pilots who had been preparing for the strike reported late to work. It also caused delays in the departure of four cargo planes bound for foreign destinations.