Editorial | Time has arrived for Cathay Pacific to get back on course for sake of Hong Kong
- Cancelled flights have done nothing for the reputation of the city or its flagship carrier, and there needs to be answers as well as an end to chaos
Staffing decisions made during the pandemic have seemingly come home to roost for Hong Kong’s flagship carrier. Hopefully, Cathay Pacific Airways is about to emerge from days of extensive flight cuts, but it must follow through with its pledge to investigate recent disruptions.
After calling off almost 70 flights during the Christmas and New Year holiday citing “higher-than-expected pilot absences caused by seasonal illness”, Cathay has apologised to customers.
Chief operations and service delivery officer Alex McGowan said on Wednesday the airline would set up a task force to “identify and resolve the underlying issues”. McGowan admitted Cathay had underestimated the number of reserve pilots needed to cover the holiday period and acknowledged the result was far below the standards expected by the public.
Concern only deepened on Sunday when Cathay announced it planned to cancel an average of 12 flights a day until the end of February to ensure normal operations for the Lunar New Year peak travel period.
The flights fiasco has dashed Hong Kong’s hopes of quickly regaining its aviation hub credentials. The severity of the situation was reflected in the grave concern expressed on Tuesday by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who told the airline to tackle its capacity problems “very quickly and effectively”.
