Sacked Cathay pilots win right to appeal

A group of sacked Cathay Pacific pilots yesterday won the right to have a case of unfair dismissal heard against the company at a UK labour tribunal.

The five pilots, who were among the '49ers' sacked during the dispute between Cathay and its pilots in 2001, won the right to a London hearing because they are employed by a UK-registered Cathay basing company VETA.

Five other sacked London-based pilots directly employed by Cathay in Hong Kong and a New York-based pilot, however, had their applications for a tribunal hearing thrown out.