Announcement of cancellation of 12 flights per day until the end of February… More than 20 flights canceled
SCMP blames “laying off several employees during the pandemic”
CEO “We sincerely apologize and will do our best to ensure stable operations.”
The CEO of Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific apologized for the recent series of flight cancellations. The routes affected include Seoul (Icheon), Singapore, Dubai, Beijing, Bangkok, and Vancouver.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 11th (local time), Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam Siufo said, “We sincerely apologize to our customers,” and “We will do our best to ensure stable and normal flight operations.”
Nevertheless, flight cancellations will continue. Cathay Pacific announced on the 7th that it would cancel an average of 12 flights per day until the end of February to prevent confusion during the Lunar New Year holiday.
As a result of SCMP’s confirmation, it was revealed that Cathay Pacific canceled 21 flights on the 8th and 9th, 12 flights on the 10th, and 20 flights on the 11th.
Flights between Incheon and Hong Kong were also included. On the 9th, several flights were canceled, including flight CX416 from Hong Kong to Incheon. Since cancellations will continue until the end of February, there may be more canceled flights on the ‘Incheon-Hong Kong’ route. Flight schedules can be checked on the Cathay Pacific official website.
Cathay Pacific previously canceled about 70 flights over the Christmas and year-end holidays, explaining that this was due to “high pilot absences due to seasonal illness.”
In response, SCMP pointed out that “this is the result of a large number of personnel being reduced after the pandemic.”
According to the Hong Kong Flight Attendant Association, the number of pilots affiliated with Cathay Pacific is currently 2,532, a decrease of approximately 35% from 3,885 in the fourth quarter of 2019 before the pandemic.
The association pointed out that “Cathay Pacific laid off 5,900 employees around the world in October 2020 and restructured its affiliate Cathay Dragon as the root cause of the pilot shortage.”
In an interview with SCMP, Cathay Pacific said, “We are mobilizing all means to recruit personnel.” He also said the company plans to hire about 5,000 people this year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.