Cathay Pacific cancels some year-end flights over pilot illness

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. canceled some year-end flights as a precaution after illness depleted its pilot ranks already diminished in the aftermath of Covid. 

A “small number” of flights are affected, the airline said late Thursday in a statement. Cathay said it “experienced higher than anticipated pilot absence caused by seasonal illness” on some days this month.

Cathay is axing 14 passenger flights on Friday, or around 11% of Hong Kong departures, according to airport data from Webb-Site.com. Services affected include Sydney, Delhi, Taipei, Shanghai and Singapore.

Total cancelations since mid-December amounted to less than 1% of all passenger flights, the airline said.

Flight scheduling data analyzed by Bloomberg shows a rise in cancelations since Christmas Eve affecting key routes like London Heathrow and Sydney. 

Cathay is contending with a broader shortfall of pilots after eliminating thousands of jobs at the height of the Covid pandemic and cutting salaries of those who remained by as much as 50%. 

Pilot staff now stands at 2,532, according to data from the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, a 35% drop from the end of 2019.

“Over the past few days the Cathay passenger operation has been under pressure with cancelations and delays because it hasn’t got enough pilots,” said union Chairman Paul Weatherlit.