Hong Kong state-owned airline Cathay Pacific which has been operating under one of the most strict regulations will hope to see some improvement with the authority lifting its quarantine requirements for crew and passengers.
The airline said it will increase flight frequency after the Hong Kong government lifted rules requiring the crew to be quarantined for 3 days in the hotel on return to the city. This left roster scheduling a headache for the management team which kept the airline from resuming normal operation.
Its passenger capacity was just 12.4% of pre-pandemic levels in July, before the crew rules were lifted, Cathay forecast a 25% pre-pandemic capacity by year-end.
However, the airline said the increase will only take place in the next couple of months as it needs to overcome the complexity and retraining of staff in handling new volumes. Cathay had initiated pay cuts since the pandemic and retrenched a substantial part of its workforce when the planes were grounded.
It said it will look at rehiring 4000 staff in operational departments over the next 18-24 months as travel rebounds.
