Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific cancels over a dozen flights in past week and additional 28 in run-up to New Year’s Eve, cites pilots falling ill, but union says staff shortage to blame
- Airline pledges to minimise disruptions caused by ‘exceptional period’, says overall operations remain ‘normal’
- ‘This is what happens when you don’t have enough pilots. There will always be some illness among crew, but this doesn’t mean flights have to be cancelled,’ union head Paul Weatherilt says
But a union representing the airline’s cockpit crew on Friday said the cancellations stemmed from a staff shortage caused by pandemic-related lay-offs, a situation which could take years to fix.
The airline apologised to affected passengers and pledged to minimise disruptions caused by the “exception period”, as it insisted its overall operations remained “normal”.
“Cathay Pacific experienced higher than anticipated pilot absence caused by seasonal illness on certain days in December. Our operations remain normal overall, with a marked increase in the number of flights operated over the holiday peak season,” it said.
“We have chosen to proactively cancel a small number of flights in order to ensure the successful delivery of our overall services. The total number of cancellations since mid-December is less than 1 per cent of all passenger flights operated.”
According to the websites of the carrier and Hong Kong International Airport, at least 28 flights scheduled between Friday and the coming Sunday had been cancelled.
