Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific vows to avoid repeat of recent flight cancellations, even as many pilots reach hour limit amid staff shortage concerns
- In memo seen by Post, airline says it operated nearly 8 per cent more daily flights in holiday period despite cancelling less than 1 per cent of services since mid-December
- But Cathay acknowledges many pilots have reached, or are close to, maximum 900 flying hours, as some cockpit crew lament increased fatigue
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has pledged to avoid repeating recent service cancellations, even as many pilots reach their maximum flying hours and some lament increased fatigue amid concerns over a staff shortage.
In an internal memo issued on Saturday and seen by the Post, Cathay Pacific director of flight operations Chris Kempis said the airline had operated nearly 8 per cent more services per day during the Christmas and New Year holiday period despite having cancelled less than 1 per cent of flights since mid-December.
Noting sickness rates were elevated on certain days, Kempis acknowledged “the important fact” that many pilots had “worked hard throughout the year” and reached or were very close to their limit of 900 flying hours for the past 12 months.
“The interaction of these and other factors is a learning point for us and it’s on me to ensure that we don’t see a repeat of the same circumstances going forward,” he wrote, conceding that many pilots had agreed to work on their guaranteed days off and swap many flights during the period.
According to the websites for the carrier and Hong Kong International Airport, at least 28 flights scheduled to depart between Friday and Sunday had been cancelled.
Cathay on Friday said a “small number of flights” had been cancelled, after it experienced “higher than anticipated pilot absence caused by seasonal illness on certain days in December”.
Pilots the Post spoke to said the problem of flight cancellations might persist because of the shortage of experienced cockpit crew.
