HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd cancelled some year-end flights as a precaution after illness depleted its pilot ranks that were already diminished in the aftermath of Covid-19.
A “small number” of flights are affected, the airline said late Dec 28 in a statement. Cathay said it “experienced higher than anticipated pilot absence caused by seasonal illness” on some days this month.
Cathay is axing 14 passenger flights on Dec 29, or around 11 per cent of its Hong Kong departures, according to airport data from Webb-Site.com. Services affected include Sydney, Delhi, Taipei, Shanghai and Singapore.
Total cancellations since mid-December amount to less than 1 per cent of all passenger flights, the airline said.
Flight scheduling data analysed by Bloomberg show a rise in cancellations since Christmas Eve affecting key routes like London Heathrow and Sydney. Upset passengers took to social media platform X to vent their disappointment.
Beyond illness, Cathay flights are also being impacted by some pilots hitting their annual flying limits, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Airbus SE A350 pilots flying for Cathay are permitted to fly a maximum of 900 hours annually and no more to prevent unsafe situations such as fatigue.
Because Cathay’s A350 pilots operated the bulk of passenger flights during Covid-19 and also when Cathay restored services this year, a growing number are maxing out on their annual hours, which operate on a rolling basis, the person said.
That’s therefore increasing the number of aircrew unable to legally fly, they added, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorised to speak publicly.
A spokesperson for Cathay declined to comment beyond the carrier’s Dec 28 statement.
The airline’s chronic shortage of pilots, at captain and first officer rank, is also hampering its recovery.
The carrier is contending with a shortfall after eliminating thousands of jobs at the height of Covid-19 and cutting salaries of those who remained by as much as 50 per cent.
Pilots on staff now stand at 2,532, according to data from the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, a 35 per cent drop from the end of 2019.
Cathay has repeatedly said its pilot training and recruitment is on track and it’s managed to meet its target of restoring 70 per cent of its pre-pandemic flight frequencies by the end of this year.
“Over the past few days, the Cathay passenger operation has been under pressure with cancellations and delays because it hasn’t got enough pilots,” said union chairman Paul Weatherilt.
According to a statement from Hong Kong’s airport earlier this week, airport passenger traffic has recovered to more than 80 per cent of what it was prior to the pandemic since mid-December.
During the Christmas holiday travel peak, the city’s airport handled more than 160,000 passengers daily on both Dec 22 and 23.
Passenger traffic at Hong Kong International Airport is expected to fully recover to the pre-pandemic level by the end of 2024, the statement said. - Bloomberg
