Cathay Pacific cuts long-haul cargo flights as quarantine rules tightened

Cathay Pacific has halted all long-haul cargo flights for a week after Hong Kong tightened its quarantine restrictions for air crew, prompting the carrier to warn of “dramatic disruptions” to the city’s supply of essential goods.

“Cathay Pacific Cargo will pause all long-haul freighter and cargo-only passenger flights with immediate effect for a period of seven days, up to 6 January,” the airline said on Friday.

The decision will affect transpacific, European, south-west Pacific, Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates-bound freighter flights, the carrier added.

Cathay also said it would make “significant changes” and cancel more passenger flights in the first quarter of next year as it operates a “skeleton” schedule in January.

The move came just days after authorities in Hong Kong extended quarantine restrictions for air crew because of the emergence of the Omicron variant. The city already had some of the world’s most stringent pandemic controls under a “zero-Covid” strategy,

Cargo air crew who were previously exempt from quarantine upon arrival must now undergo seven days of mandatory isolation in a hotel, according to an internal memo sent to Cathay pilots on Thursday that has been seen by the Financial Times.

Local health authorities had previously announced that crew would have to quarantine for three days. Hong Kong’s Transport and Housing Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cathay pilots have already been suffering low morale due to the city’s tough restrictions, with some describing the city’s Covid control measures as “permanent quarantine”.

Andy Wong, Cathay’s general manager of corporate affairs, said the operational and travel restrictions continued “to constrain our ability to operate flights as planned” and the carrier was consolidating passenger and cargo flight schedules for early 2022.

Cathay’s figures for November, before the emergence of Omicron, showed total cargo hauled was down 24 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels. The airline’s passenger capacity had fallen more than 90 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

“We are wary that any further tightening of air crew quarantine arrangements would lead to reductions in flight frequencies to protect the wellbeing of our crew members and the overall safety of our operations,” Wong said.

He added: “Such action would, in turn, cause dramatic disruptions to supply chains in the short-term, jeopardising the adequate supply of essential goods in an already scarce supply chain environment, impacting the livelihoods of thousands of people in Hong Kong and undermining Hong Kong International Airport as a leading cargo hub.”

Aviation analysts have raised concerns that Hong Kong’s tough Covid rules risks undermining the city’s status as a global flight and logistics hub.

Last month, US-based freight group FedEx moved to shut its crew base in Hong Kong and relocate staff overseas. Airlines including Finnair, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines have been banned from flying several routes into the city after cases were recorded on individuals who had arrived on the carriers.

Hong Kong has recorded 81 Omicron cases as of Thursday, and health experts warned the territory could be on the verge of an outbreak after at least two community-spread cases were detected. The cases are believed to linked to a Cathay air crew member.