"Pilot Shortage"… Cathay Pacific Cancels Average 12 Flights Daily Until February

Chronic Labor Shortage After COVID-19

Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific will cancel an average of 12 flights per day until the end of February.

Local Hong Kong media reported that Cathay Pacific has decided to cancel an average of 12 flights per day until the end of February, citing the normalization of operations during the Lunar New Year (Chunje) peak season as the reason. The airline plans to contact passengers of the canceled flights to offer alternative flights or refunds.

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

This is not the first time Cathay Pacific has canceled a large number of flights. During last month's Christmas holidays and the New Year's Day this month, about 70 flights were consecutively canceled due to a shortage of pilots. Cathay Pacific explained the mass cancellations during the year-end and New Year peak season as being caused by "more pilots than expected contracting seasonal flu."

However, the industry consensus is that the real reason is a manpower shortage. Cathay Pacific drastically cut jobs and salaries during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a chronic shortage of personnel. Last month, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association stated that the number of pilots in Cathay Pacific's passenger division is at 58% of the pre-COVID-19 level. Moreover, some of them are reportedly lacking in proficiency.

Cathay Pacific promised to hire an additional 5,000 employees last November.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.