‘Like we’ve lost a home’: Cathay Dragon employees surprised, shaken by decision to axe Hong Kong airline

Despite rumours of job cuts, ‘no one ever expected the entire airline would shut down overnight’, says flight attendant let go after 10 years

‘We don’t feel management fought very hard to keep the brand,’ vice-chairperson of its flight attendants’ union

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Published: 9:34pm, 21 Oct 2020Updated: 10:46am, 22 Oct 2020

Lisa Mok woke up on Wednesday to the news her 10-year run as a Cathay Dragon flight attendant was over – and so was the airline.

Mok* had not been aboard a flight since January, as the spread of Covid-19 ground global travel to a halt. She was soon asked to go on unpaid leave, then watched helplessly as her monthly salary was halved.

“There had been rumours in the past half year that there could be job cuts, but no one ever expected the entire airline would shut down overnight,” said Mok, who is in her early 30s.

Mok is among the more than 2,500 Cathay Dragon flight attendants and pilots whose jobs were lost overnight under a restructuring by parent company Cathay Pacific. Passengers were also affected, as the carrier’s few remaining regional routes were abruptly eliminated.

Many of her laid-off colleagues were still in shock, she said, especially those with children, who now faced the harsh reality of suddenly needing to find a new career path.

Members of the Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Flight Attendants Association speak to the media outside Cathay Pacific City on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong

On Wednesday, the mood outside Cathay Pacific City, the company’s headquarters, was sombre.