Cathay Pacific cuts a dozen flights a day until end of February to ease strain on operations

SEOUL: Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways will cut a dozen flights a day on average until the end of February, the airline said on Sunday (Jan 7), in a move to avoid cancellations as the busy Chinese New Year travel season approaches.

Cathay had to cancel some flights over the peak travel period for Christmas and the year end because its operations were stretched, it said in a statement.

"(Cathay) has consolidated on average six flight pairs per day for the rest of January and February, focusing on routes with multiple daily frequencies, where possible," it added.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the airline called off almost 70 flights during the Christmas and New Year holidays, citing "higher-than-expected pilot absences caused by seasonal illness".

As of 9pm on Sunday, at least 10 departing and nine arriving flights were cancelled, with the affected destinations including Taipei, Kaohsiung, Singapore, Shanghai and Dubai.

Cathay said it had reviewed its flight schedule and increased the number of pilots on standby to avoid disruption in the coming weeks.

“We have taken measures to ensure Cathay Pacific’s flights will operate normally for the coming Chinese New Year travel peak,” Cathay Group CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por said.

“Hong Kong people travelling out and visitors coming to Hong Kong can be reassured that their travel will go ahead as planned.”

Cathay, which said in November it intended to recruit 5,000 more staff members during 2024, had pruned employees drastically in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and changed staff contract terms and conditions.

Last month, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA), which represents some of its pilots, said Cathay's passenger business had 58 per cent of the pilots it had before the pandemic.

The association's chairman, Paul Weatherilt, told SCMP that the airline had set itself “unrealistic targets” to resume flight capacity.

“There’s no real ability for the system to absorb these changes, they knock on and end up cancelling more than just one flight,” he said.

In a November briefing to analysts, Cathay dropped a goal of rebuilding to pre-pandemic levels its cargo and passenger capacity by the end of 2024, giving no new date.

In October, passenger capacity was 62 per cent of 2019 levels, and cargo operations were at 79 per cent, the airline said.