Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific faces unprecedented staff shortages as city reopens

Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific is facing unprecedented staff shortages and may not be ready to handle a surge in demand, as the city winds up its strict Covid policy and reopens for international travel.

A top local union warned of a record number of resignations from the company's most experienced pilots, saying Cathay has lost 40% of its captains and first officers. In a statement, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association HKAOA said the carrier was unprepared to regain its industry leadership position, threatening the status of Hong Kong as a global aviation hub. The group said there was a breakdown in negotiations on pay.

Hong Kong's flagship airline is facing unprecedented staffing and training shortages, and is unprepared to fully resume its operations, failing to meet demand in a resurgent travel market, the HKAOA said.

Like most airlines, Cathay has been pummeled during the flu. The carrier, once known as a premier employer, struggled with falling morale, a surge in resignations and mounting frustration as staff underwent Hong Kong's arduous quarantine measures, some of the world's strictest.

This month, Hong Kong ended its two and a half years of quarantine measures, leading to a surge in demand for outbound travel.

The news brought some much-needed relief to Cathay, which had to slash capacity to as little as 2% of pre-pandemic levels during the global health crisis.

In recent weeks, Cathay has said it will add hundreds of new flight services in response to the relaxation of border controls. It even set up a virtual waiting room for its booking website as customers flooded its platform to buy tickets.

The company is facing a defense once again as pilots warn of continued workplace issues.

A Cathay Pacific spokeswoman told CNN Business that it has enough qualified and experienced aviation professionals to support the current operation and operate at the highest levels of safety and customer service. We are focused on building connectivity between Hong Kong and the world as quickly as possible. The spokesperson said that it would take time to rebuild our capacity as we build operational readiness and undertake a large amount of training and aircraft reactivation.

The company has already started a huge recruitment drive to recruit more than 4,000 frontline employees to meet Cathay Pacific's operational needs over the next 18 -- 24 months, according to the spokesperson.

Our contracts for pilots are competitive. Hong Kong reopens after the pandemic, other airlines are deciding on a different approach. On Wednesday, Virgin Atlantic announced it is closing its Hong Kong office and not resuming services between the Asian hub and London's Heathrow Airport.

The Russian airspace closure has resulted in a decision not to resume flights as planned in March 2023, which has contributed to the commercial decision not to resume flights in March 2023, the company said.

Since December 2021, flights between London Heathrow and Hong Kong Airport have been halted due to the Covid- 19 Pandemic.

Customers on this route and those booked to travel March 2023 will be able to request a refund, according to the company, who said they will be able to change their flights with no change fee or refunds and will be able to request a refund.

It said that we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to affected customers.