MORE than a quarter of Cathay Pacific flights were cancelled yesterday, affecting 5,000 travellers, as a growing number of pilots involved in a pay dispute called in sick.
The airline cancelled 30 flights yesterday, including long-haul services to London and Rome, and has been forced to cancel 31 flights today.
About 1,000 passengers stranded in Hong Kong were booked into hotels last night.
Management signalled it was digging in for a protracted dispute that would disrupt schedules for at least another 12 days until a crucial 'sign-up-or-be-sacked' pay deadline.
Many stranded travellers were transferred to later Cathay flights or other airlines, check-in counters at the Central and Kowloon MTR stations were shut down and all Cathay passengers were told to contact the carrier before leaving for the airport.
Ticket sales for Cathay flights departing in the next two weeks have been suspended.
