Staff at Cathay Pacific Airways , Hong Kong's flagship airline, ar...
FILE PHOTO: A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER plane lands at Hong Kong airport after it reopened following clashes between police and protesters, in Hong Kong, China August 14, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
The rejections have forced Cathay to scramble, pulling pilots and flight attendants off standby while it investigates social media accounts in an effort to determine which crew member has been deemed a security threat, one of the sources said. The CAAC’s labeling of employees who support the protest as a security risk and its demand that they be suspended from flying over mainland airspace has been a de facto career killer.
“Things changed very quickly,” said Jeremy Tam, a pro-democracy lawmaker and pilot who resigned from the airline after the CAAC directive, likening the atmosphere to a political trial. “The threat is huge and it’s almost like zero to 100 in two seconds.” The airline declined to comment on the number of employee departures, but said any terminations took into account factors such as a person’s ability to perform their role.Aviation regulators around the world conduct occasional plane inspections at airports to ensure an airline is in compliance with safety regulations.
Infractions can have outsized consequences under the CAAC’s strict demerit points system, they said, noting the regulator could force Cathay to reduce its number of flights, cut destinations or in a worst-case scenario, revoke the airline’s right to fly to mainland China.“It is nothing less than the survival of the airline at stake,” said a senior employee. “Management have made that abundantly clear at meetings.
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