Letters | Hong Kong should spare a thought for Cathay aircrew who endure isolation to keep planes in air

Readers call for understanding of crew members’ sacrifices, a review of the city’s quarantine rules to deal with local transmission, constructive criticism of lawmakers, and a better use of school resources to improve language learning

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A Cathay Pacific aircraft approaches Hong Kong airport on August 10 last year. Airline crew are isolated when they are overseas in hotel rooms. On return to Hong Kong, they are subjected to weeks of tests and isolation from the community. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:00am, 5 Jan 2022

I’m writing to request the Post to reduce the burden of angst and stress on Cathay Pacific flight crew. Although the current Omicron community transmissions are the result of the careless actions of an aircrew member, thousands of other crew members have complied with strict quarantine requirements for the last two years.

The sentence, “It has only itself to blame after failure to impose quarantine discipline on its staff. We all pay the price”, in your editorial “All Hongkongers must now pay the price for Cathay’s quarantine failure” (January 3) was hurtful.

Airline crew are isolated when they are overseas in hotel rooms, often facing food delivery problems. On return to Hong Kong, they are subjected to weeks of tests and isolation from the community. Every crew member spends three to four hours of their own time (sometimes more) completing airport PCR tests before returning home or to a quarantine hotel.

And every crew member and their family members face the possibility of quarantine in Penny’s Bay whenever they work. None of these are recent revelations; this has been the norm for over a year.

Crew have been and are continually paying the price of keeping planes in the air. As I write to you now, I sit isolated in a hotel room, and it’s been 25 days since I last saw my family and friends, or walked freely outdoors. Crew members such as myself have volunteered for these “isolation closed loop” rosters to keep passengers flying and reduce the Covid-19 threat to the community.

I implore you to spare a thought for our crew members who are working in extreme isolation. More accurately, the small aircrew community is sacrificing their personal liberties and paying the price for all in the city.