‘Big safety issue’: Hong Kong pilots’ warning over COVID rules | Aviation News

Hong Kong’s “zero COVID” policies make operations more difficult for passengers to cope with, so they may be at risk for safety, pilots who have worked at airports have warned.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, four existing and former Hong Kong pilots – all of whom did not want to be identified because of the issue – said strict privacy regulations raise safety concerns because of their impact on airline health.

The fifth pilot said that while he does not believe that things have “come to this point,” modern policies are “pushing the envelope of celebrities”.

These measures include a “closed-loop” system that detects pilots operating three weeks during which they stay in a hotel room when they do not fly, followed by an extra two weeks of solitary confinement at the hotel. Under this voluntary regimen, some pilots have been isolating themselves for months without proper ventilation or regular exercise. These policies have also prevented some pilots, many of them from foreign countries, from seeing their families in their home country for extended periods of time during the epidemic.

“I believe it is a security issue, and it is a serious security issue,” a former Cathay Pacific pilot in Hong Kong told Al Jazeera. “Can I now put my family on a Cathay Pacific plane and know what these guys are going through? Honestly? No.”

The former pilot, who left the Cathay Pacific late last year, said nothing had happened so far with evidence of “excellent pilots” used by the airline.

“If there was an incident with Cathay now, or it has been in the last six months, or it will be in the next six months, this is a very important issue,” the pilot said. “What were the flight attendants’ ideas, and how many holes for Swiss cheese formed the line?”

A pilot who left the Cathay Pacific last year to work in the United States told Al Jazeera that what was happening here had brought “serious security concerns”.

“The flight attendants are always busy / isolated without any opportunity to rest, exercise, socialize – the most important things in life and health,” said the pilot.

“From day one, pilots are being warned about the dangers of distraction. “The emphasis is on keeping foreign issues out of the airport to focus on the most important security services that are just around the corner,” he said.

A Hong Kong Airlines pilot, who has seen many of his colleagues quit their jobs and call in patients to stay afloat, told Al Jazeera that while he did not expect an accident that could cause a “hole in the ground,” he sees incidents such as a tail drop or a crossing.

“My concern is that if the times were right, the crew would be able to deal with it safely and accurately,” said the pilot, who had not flown since the epidemic. “But now with all the pressure and closure, their reliance on victory is low. That’s my concern.”

Several pilots say the threat was exacerbated by the introduction of a new Cathay Pacific alliance in 2020 that reduced payroll employees flying by as much as 50 percent, prompting crews to write closed notes to make flight time.

Can you imagine the pressure that makes pilots go to work even when they are not supposed to go to work? a European freight forwarder currently working with Cathay Pacific told Al Jazeera. “That’s a big security issue, I think.”

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Aviation Department told Al Jazeera that pilots were legally barred from operating if they suspected any mental or physical infirmities.

“In other words, [the] each member has the responsibility to declare him or her unfit for work if that is the case. Monga [for] in support of the health of its employees, CAD states that all local airlines provide mental health care so that assistance or expertise can be provided to the required staff and on time, “he said.

“Airlines needs to be better prepared to meet the needs of public health and aviation safety. The CAD will continue to monitor its plans with a view to ensuring that aviation safety is not compromised.”

A Cathay Pacific spokesman acknowledged that the epidemic law “is harassing our pilots, who have been exemplary in their behavior and expertise during this difficult time.”

“The environment has been difficult for everyone, especially the pilots, and we continue to support our groups in managing what we can control, such as free time after closed operations, financial incentives and decisions to get a longer vacation,” he said. every one is done by senior management to discuss and share concerns, and we have a Pilot Assistance Team that liaises regularly with isolated pilots. Our Flight Crew People Services team, our Pilot Assistance Network and the company’s Employee Assistance Program are available around the clock to help people in need. ”

The spokesman added that pilots could leave closed lists “without discrimination at any time.”

A spokesman for Hong Kong Airport Authority said the epidemic plans were set by the government but the airport “still has close links with airport businesses” in accordance with the rules of isolation.

‘Prison conditions’

Trevor Bock, a safety consultant at Aviation Safety Asia, told Al Jazeera that conditions are causing stress and psychological problems that are worrying “in order for people to work harder and not to move”.

“Things like these prisons – living in low-rise hotel rooms and on the way back from a trip – are now increasing the fatigue and stress of pilots,” said Bock, whose expertise is based in Hong Kong and Australia.

“Many have been enduring up to two years now – especially pilots – and this is not just about behavior, but also about motivation, dedication and making people feel comfortable and reducing attention / stress during difficult times.”

Under the “zero COVID” principle developed to integrate with China, Hong Kong has shifted from one of the busiest places in the world to one of the most remote cities. Although the vaccine was released last year, the city has repeatedly imposed border restrictions and antitrust laws with little or no warning.

Authorities last week evicted a small number of people who were about to be stranded airlines after two Cathay Pacific crew members were found to have violated medical inspection rules, forcing all non-mainland China airlines to operate unoccupied workers.

Like other people, pilots who have been tested for the virus are subsequently referred to a resuscitation center until they are discharged – which lasts for at least 10 days but can last forever – after which they are referred to another facility. 14 days.

An aviation security expert who knows the situation in Hong Kong told Al Jazeera that the government is forcing passengers to “push the border” to make the operation safer.

“It’s dangerous to tolerate but we are doing it because we are pushing the boundaries a little more than we have done, a little more than the rules have allowed in the past,” said an aviation safety expert.

Some Cathay Pacific pilots feel they have a problem with the failure of the ‘zero COVID’ government policy. [File: Bobby Yip/ Reuters]

The expert said that although he expected the aircraft to be able to refuse to fly if they believed the threat was not justified, there were no “unlimited security measures”.

“It did not happen for security, I tell you this first,” he said of the city’s epidemic rules. “The government does not think it cares, based on what I have seen.”

Several international airlines including Swiss International Air Lines, British Airways and Air Canada have suspended flights to Hong Kong in recent weeks due to concerns over compliance with the British plague, which since its return to China has sold itself as “Asian International City”.

On Wednesday, the Hong Kong government temporarily banned flights from eight countries including the United States and the United Kingdom, among Omicron’s ethnic group. On Thursday, Cathay Pacific said it would reduce cargo and travel expenses by about two-thirds and 80 percent, respectively, until the end of the month following sanctions and regulations, “The South China Morning Post reported.

The pilots who spoke to Al Jazeera also expressed their frustration at the government’s failure to meet its goal of preventing disease, which many medical professionals see as impossible and unstable.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam last week called on the CEO and chairman of Cathay Pacific to express “deep dissatisfaction” over the violation of his staff. Local journalists also covered the plane, as the South China Morning Post published an article on Sunday, “All Hongkongers now have to pay the price for Cathay’s failure”.

In 2019, Cathay Pacific, the largest shareholder in Britain during the Swire colonial era, came under pressure after overseeing China’s aviation program. . co-workers will be fired if they support or participate in “illegal demonstrations”. Hogg soon quit his job to do “recent events.”

“We take the opportunity, we go to work, we bring goods to Hong Kong and then we have to read about it in the newspapers that we are bad people,” said a European freight forwarder. “That is moral decay. Also we know that if something happens, no one has our back. “