Cathay Pacific to move pilots to US to avoid quarantine

Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong Int’l) is trialling the temporary placement in Los Angeles Int’l, US of its B777 pilots from January 2022 to avoid strict quarantine requirements imposed on aircrews in Hong Kong, the airline confirmed to ch-aviation.

The carrier said it would trial temporary extended roster patterns (TERPs) next month requiring some pilots to be relocated for at least four to five months at a time to Los Angeles. To start with, B777 pilots would fly “cargo-only-passenger flights” on the Los Angeles route. “This is a trial only and is subject to change or cancellation at short notice. However, a successful trial may also enable TERPs to be launched in other locations and for other fleets,” it said in a statement shared with ch-aviation.

“The temporary extended-roster patterns (TERPs) will allow our Hong Kong-based pilots to operate a series of duties over longer periods of time that touch Hong Kong but without entering the local community before undergoing the government-mandated quarantine on return to Hong Kong at the end of the pattern. It is intended as a temporary fallback plan and is not considered to be a long term solution to the current challenges Cathay Pacific is facing.

“Given the positive interest among our pilots, we will be launching a trial for TERPs commencing in January 2022 for the B777 fleet predominantly flying cargo-only-passenger flights on the Los Angeles route. The trial is expected to extend over a period of four to five months, which includes training in the month prior to departure, three months operating the extended patterns, ending by completing quarantine in Hong Kong before returning to training or other duties.

“We are fully committed to protecting and enhancing Hong Kong’s aviation hub status, and to keep the flow of people and cargo between Hong Kong and the rest of the world moving despite the challenging circumstances presented by the pandemic,” the airline said.

Hong Kong has tightened its quarantine rules in line with mainland China’s zero COVID-19 policy.

Aircrews are subject to a 14-day quarantine compared with 21 days in designated hotels for other fully-vaccinated returning Hong Kong nationals. However, crews may not leave their hotel rooms and are subject to more frequent COVID-19 screening, with daily tests recently mandated for the first week after returning.

These restrictions – amongst the toughest in the world – also come after Cathay Pacific fired three cargo pilots who were infected with COVID-19 during a layover at Frankfurt Int’l and quarantined 111 employees who had stayed in the same hotel.

Hong Kong’s quarantine rules reportedly have led to cuts to Cathay’s passenger and cargo flights and frequent short-notice cancellations, while leaving crews demoralised. BBC News cited an unnamed Cathay Pacific pilot as having spent almost 150 days in isolation this year alone, claiming that 80% of the airline’s pilots were looking for work elsewhere.

FedEx Express (FX, Memphis Int’l) has already closed its pilots base in Hong Kong over prevailing COVID-19 restrictions