Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways warns pilots against slow taxiing after some accused of congesting airport
- Internal airline memo seen by Post says some pilots going at ‘considerably slower speed’ while taxiing
- Union leader says go-slow issues reflect poor morale among pilots as salaries stay at 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels despite record profits
Cathay Pacific Airways has warned its pilots against taxiing at “considerably slower speeds” after some were accused of contributing to congestion at Hong Kong’s airport, the Post has learned.
In an internal memo sent on April 21 and seen by the Post on Sunday, the city’s flagship airline said it would look into any future cases flagged by the Airport Authority and its own internal team, but would refrain from reviewing past data.
“The Airport Authority advised us that their data indicated that some Cathay Pacific aircraft were taxiing at a considerably slower speed than other operators for both arrivals and departures,” said Tim Burns, the airline’s general manager. “Our own Hong Kong airport team has confirmed that they have tracked similar instances in their own systems.”
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The airline’s pilots union on Sunday said the go-slow travel reflected poor morale among staff members as salaries were 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels despite record profits.
Cathay Pacific last year reported HK$3.55 billion (US$452.6 million) in operating profit after facing record losses in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic emerged. The airline also carried 2.8 million passengers in 2022.
Under contracts revised in 2020, pilots’ monthly salaries are calculated based on actual flight times, including time spent taxiing. The previous system used distances flown as a pay marker.
An airline spokesman told the Post: “Cathay Pacific works closely with airport authorities in Hong Kong and markets that we operate. We take any feedback from our discussions seriously.
“Safety is always our top priority. We pride ourselves on our high levels of proficiency and operational standards.”
In the memo, Burns said the company would take complaints of pilots going too slow seriously, but admitted the airline’s management did not consider the problem to be widespread.
He added that such instances had contributed to congestion at the airport, stressing that on-time performance and passenger connections were important for the city to grow as a major air hub.
Pilots should keep time spent taxiing to a minimum, going at a speed of between 15 to 20 nautical miles per hour and only reaching 30 if conditions permitted, Burns said.
The memo did not reveal the taxiing speeds recorded by the authority.
“Should cases be identified where individual aircraft are taxiing at speeds below the average of others in the same time frame, then we will follow up with the relevant commander and then take any further action that may be required,” Burns said.
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Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association chairman Paul Weatherilt said the taxiing issue was a sign of “poor pilot morale”.
Cathay introduced significant lay-offs during the pandemic, axing up to a quarter of its pre-Covid workforce.
Weatherilt said the go-slow issue was a “very small part of what has happened over pilot contracts at Cathay and the way their pilots are now paid”.
“With record prices and load factors, Cathay is making record profits and still pilots are being paid 40 per cent less than they were pre-pandemic. Allowances have been slashed,” he added.
“This is why pilots have left and continue to leave. Until the company is ready to work with pilot representatives to address these issues, little will change.”
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The association chair also warned the airline had less than half the number of senior pilots needed to crew its aircraft, potentially leading to years of flight shortages and hamstringing the city’s efforts to regain its status as an aviation hub.
Discussing the departure of pilots, Cathay said: “The attrition rate has normalised across all staff groups. We are on track with our comprehensive plan to recruit top talent to support our operations and drive our rebuilding efforts.”
The airline added that “a good number of those who left Cathay Pacific” had applied to re-join the company.
Asked about Cathay’s memo, the Airport Authority said it recorded statistics on the operation of the site’s apron and communicated regularly with various operators.
“Aircraft taxiing time has a certain impact on the operation of the apron, especially before the arrival of an inbound flight,” a spokesman said.
