ExclusiveMore than 100 employees have left troubled Hong Kong Airlines in past three months but carrier insists few departures were through compulsory job cuts

Difference in staff levels is mainly because of resignations and natural attrition, a spokeswoman says

City’s third biggest airline is reportedly seeking cash injection of HK$2 billion to ensure it keeps its licence

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Between January and April, the airline’s cabin crew numbers fell by 70. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 8:00am, 14 Apr 2019Updated: 8:22am, 14 Apr 2019

More than 100 employees have left Hong Kong Airlines in the past three months as the carrier continues to feel pressure to raise cash and curb costs to stay in business.

But few of the departures were down to compulsory job cuts, the company insisted.

“The difference is not retrenchment but mainly due to resignations and natural attrition,” a spokeswoman said.

The airline, part-owned by mainland China’s troubled HNA Group, is still flying despite facing lawsuits over unpaid debts and a management exodus, with authorities monitoring its ability to continue as a business.

A more pressing concern for the city’s third biggest airline is that it requires a cash injection of HK$2 billion (US$255 million) to satisfy the Hong Kong authorities it will not breach the financial conditions set out in its permit to fly.

The airline has faced one problem after another in recent months. Photo: Winson Wong

According to a Reuters report on Friday, which cited sources who attended an extraordinary shareholder meeting last week, the company sought the cash to keep its licence issued by Hong Kong transport officials.