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‘Poison period’: Hong Kong pilots fly under ‘zero COVID’ | Aviation News

Hong Kong, China – When a Cathay Pacific pilot checked a list of company executives last month, he was shocked by what he saw. Within six months, they had moved to about 400 locations – indicating that the same pilots had left the plane at that time.

The departure of the aircraft comes amid growing frustrations with Hong Kong’s strong point of “zero COVID”, which has removed the “Asian International City” from the world and raised questions about their future as an airline.

Within the Cathay Pacific, many workers feel that the authorities have not fully reciprocated by the Hong Kong government’s approach to epidemics, leaving them to adhere to strict epidemic laws that also cover remote areas of the world.

“It always follows the rules of the state,” the pilot, who did not want to be named, told Al Jazeera. “That’s why morals have dropped dramatically in the last few weeks.”

The pilot, who has been working on the airline for nearly a decade, said the staff crisis came after Cathay decided to deploy last month. A total of 130 pilots to the state-run private resort three people infected with COVID-19 in Frankfurt, without research. At least 20 crew members resigned on the same day and more are expected to follow, the pilot said.

While it is not known how many pilots have left the airport due to the city’s strict rules, the recent departure represents an increase in interest rates compared to previous years. According to the flight statistics, only 130 pilots retired or resigned in 2018.

“He just agreed to do whatever the government asked without hesitation,” said the pilot, who has been suspended since July 2020 and has reduced his pay by 20 percent so that the expected return date will be suspended.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Oneworld Cockpit Crew Coalition, a non-profit airline, expressed concern about the “impossibility” in Cathay Pacific since the outbreak began, including long periods of isolation and family separation.

“Cathay Pacific pilots are facing a dictatorship,” said John Sluys, chairman of the coalition, which represents 30,000 pilots. “The result is a period of corporate poisoning.”

Hong Kong has reported 213 deaths [File: Lam Yik/Reuters]

In line with Chinese policy, Hong Kong has insisted on a “zero COVID” approach that mandates 21 days of isolation for those who come from other parts of the country and openly define “neighbors” with the virus.

Individuals who do not have the opportunity to stay in a hotel where a foreigner is diagnosed with the virus face up to 14 days, leading to a 35-day jail term. and protect public health in the city, where only 213 people have died from COVID-19.

For the past two days, Swiss International Airlines and British Airways have suspended flights to the city, citing established ways to establish co-workers.

Cathay Pacific, however, has been unable to adhere to governmental principles, which some medical experts have criticized as having no scientific basis.

A Cathay Pacific pilot who spoke with Al Jazeera said he could endure just one “loop-loop” flight before returning to vacation for some time because it was “extremely difficult”.

The closed system requires co-workers to be isolated for three or four weeks of flight, followed by an additional period of isolation upon their return to Hong Kong.

The pilot, who did not want to be named, initially volunteered to fly the program in anticipation of a layoff, following the dismissal of 5,900 employees last year.

“The new contract allows the company to choose who will replace him. I was afraid that if I did not work, I would be fired,” said the pilot, adding that other pilots were on their fifth or sixth flight.

He is now operating airlines, where crews work long hours without the permission of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department.

‘Impossible on Earth’

A new cost-cutting approach that reduces employee pay over the long term has also affected employee morale. Although it was vacation time, Cathay had to cut back by a third of her flight due to a lack of personnel ready to work.

“It does not make sense to close the border and maintain the locks of the people, when the whole world will be back to normal,” said the pilot.

“Instead of taking our responsibility to change the policy, the company maintains aviation, which reduces its capacity and allows the government to maintain it,” he said. “And it has made the lives of those in the airline industry very difficult.”

A Cathay Pacific spokesman said that while what was happening here was “difficult for everyone,” the aircraft was contributing to the Hong Kong epidemic and saw its success as “the key to restarting cross-border flights and upgrading airports in the city.”

“Until the end of October, our retirement and early retirement have been historically consistent,” he said, adding that the company provides employees with retirement periods after closing time, economic incentives and longer periods. . “Unfortunately, what happened in Frankfurt has affected the current mind; however, we fully expect to be competitors of all competing international and international competitors over time and we are preparing for this. We plan to use hundreds of pilots in the coming year, many of which have already shown interest in joining the Cathay brand. “

The spokesman added that the recent closure of its foreign airports for pilots and temporary respite and retirement had led to “many” on the senior list.

Global travel has been halted under Hong Kong’s ‘Zero COVID’ stricter principles [File: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg]

John Grant, senior researcher at the British company Midas Aviation, told Al Jazeera that the government’s anti-deregulation policy threatened Hong Kong’s status, including its role as the world’s busiest cargo hold.

“Until the opportunity to access the Chinese market is restored and Chinese authorities begin to accept that zero-COVID will not happen globally, what is happening here will not go well,” Grant said.

The departure of pilots exacerbates existing problems in the Cathay Pacific, which also includes a shortage of pilots around the world, Grant said. But he predicted that the Omicron model would be limited, as the aircraft is already operating less than 30 percent of its total capacity.

“Other than that, how difficult would it be for Cathay?” he said.

Richard Aboulafia, an aviation expert at Teal Group, said Hong Kong is facing more challenges than other airports that have seen significant traffic reductions, such as Singapore and Dubai.

“Given some of the major challenges Hong Kong faces, such as political turmoil, increased talent and the excessive use of Beijing power in the negotiations of slavery, the establishment of the individual is a problem,” Aboulafia said.




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