Cathay Pacific employee unions play down mainland China’s protest-linked aviation sanctions

No Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon or HK Express flights were delayed or cancelled over weekend

Head of flight attendants union ‘reassured’ but remains concerned about staff with overnight stays on the mainland

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Cathay Pacific employees at the company's headquarters in Hong Kong. The city’s flag carrier has been caught up in the protest crisis. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:00am, 12 Aug 2019Updated: 12:48pm, 12 Aug 2019

The unions of Cathay Pacific Group’s pilots and flight attendants have allayed fears that new Chinese aviation safety regulations targeting the company will lead to havoc for its operations.

No Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon or HK Express flight was delayed or cancelled on Saturday or Sunday, the company confirmed. That was the first day it had to adhere to stiff rules from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), banning staff who took part in illegal Hong Kong protests from flying over mainland airspace.

Apparently infuriated that some airline staff had taken part in ongoing anti-government protests in Hong Kong, the mainland regulator cited safety risks as it imposed new rules for Cathay Pacific on Friday.

It gave the airline up to Thursday this week to submit a detailed plan to improve internal safety controls and improve flight security and safety. It also warned that flights with unapproved crew lists would be barred from mainland airspace.

When diplomatic tension arises, airlines, particularly flag carriers, have been targeted

Jae Woon Lee, aviation law and policy professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong

On Sunday, the company started submitting to the CAAC lists of pilots and flight attendants flying through mainland airspace on flights predominantly to and from China, North America and Europe.