Cathay Pacific Airways has been compelled to reduce an average of twelve flights per day until the end of February 2024 due to ongoing crew shortages and to avoid multiple cancellations and other disruptions during the Chinese New Year travel season. The Hong Kong-based carrier made the drastic move after canceling flights over the busy Christmas and New Year travel period due to stretched operations.
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The airline has consolidated an average of six flight pairs (12 sectors) per day for the remainder of January and February, focusing on routes with multiple daily frequencies, where possible. During the Christmas and New Year holidays, the airline canceled almost 70 flights, citing higher-than-expected pilot absences caused by seasonal illness. On January 7, 2024, Cathay Pacific canceled at least ten departing and nine arriving flights, affecting destinations such as Taipei (TPE), Kaohsiung (KHH), Singapore (SIN), Shanghai (PVG), and Dubai (DXB).
Cathay Pacific has reviewed its flight schedules and increased the number of pilots on standby to prevent disruption in the coming weeks. The airline reassured passengers that their travel plans for the Chinese New Year travel peak will go ahead as planned. In November 2023, Cathay Pacific announced its intention to recruit an additional 5,000 employees throughout 2024 after cutting staff numbers significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2023, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA), which represents some of its pilots, reported that Cathay’s passenger operations had only 58% of the pilots it had before the pandemic. The association’s Chairman, Paul Weatherill, claimed that the airline had set itself unrealistic targets to resume flight capacity, which ultimately led to more cancellations than a single flight.
During a briefing to industry analysts in November 2023, Cathay Pacific revealed its goal to rebuild its cargo and passenger capacities to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. In October 2023, passenger capacity was at 62% of 2019 levels, and cargo operations were at 79%. Cathay Pacific was one of the world's major airlines severely impacted by the pandemic due to the early imposition and late lifting of travel restrictions in mainland China – one of the airline's most important markets.