ExclusiveCoronavirus: China Southern, Hainan Airlines among crisis-struck mainland carriers to put all foreign pilots on unpaid leave

Lured by generous compensation, many foreign pilots now considering their options amid unfolding coronavirus crisis

Mainland airlines have seen flights slashed across the board since start of coronavirus crisis

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Pilots sit inside the cockpit of a China Eastern aircraft, one of the few mainland carriers to have not made unpaid leave mandatory for foreign pilots. Photo: DPA

Published: 7:00am, 6 Feb 2020Updated: 6:02pm, 14 Feb 2020

All foreign pilots working for China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, and a host of smaller mainland Chinese carriers have been placed on indefinite unpaid leave, according to multiple sources and a memo seen by the Post.

With the coronavirus crisis forcing airlines to slash flights, several hundred foreign pilots have seemingly become surplus overnight, with some telling the Post they were considering their options amid the uncertainty now facing the world’s fastest-growing air market.

“All foreign pilots, including those who have applied for leave exemption and those who have not, shall start a non-fixed term leave without pay as soon as possible,” a Tuesday memo to a batch of foreign pilots for China Southern, the country’s largest carrier, said.

Their grounding was effective that day, with the pilots told they would “return to work when [the] situation gets better.”

Thousands of mainland flights have been cancelled since the outbreak of the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Xiamen Airlines along with Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines (BCA) – a trio of carriers owned by debt-laden HNA Group – have also placed foreign aircrew on unpaid leave, according to multiple sources.