Cathay Pacific has cancelled at least 40 flights since Christmas Eve. Here's why

Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong's flagship carrier, has cancelled another 28 year-end flights after it called off at least 16 flights over the Christmas holiday. The flights cancelled over the next five days were between Hong Kong and six cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Dubai, Delhi and Dhaka.

During the Christmas holiday season, Cathay Pacific cancelled long-haul flights, including the ones from London and Amsterdam, South China Morning Post reported. On Monday, the airline said, "We have chosen to proactively cancel a small number of flights to ensure the successful delivery of our overall services."

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Cathay Pacific apologised to its passengers for the cancelled flights. On Saturday, Chris Kempis, the director of flight operations, said in an internal memo that the airline operated nearly eight per cent more service per day during the Christmas and New Year holiday period despite having cancelled less than one per cent of flights since mid-December.

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The Hong Kong airline has also mentioned the reason behind cancelling these flights. On Monday, the airline said, "The cancellations were due to higher than expected absence caused by seasonal illness on certain days." They proactively cancelled some flights "to ensure the successful delivery of our overall services."

Kempisaddressed the issue of pilots taking sick leaves on certain days. He acknowledged that the pilots have worked hard throughout the year and have either reached or are very close to their 900 flying hours in the last 12 months.

A pilot from Cathay Pacific told SCMP that the airline might continue to cancel flights due to the shortage of experienced cockpit crew. The pilot has accused Cathay Pacific of not having enough staff to handle the operating flights within the allotted hours.

"To make a short haul roster hit 900 hours, we are doing several take-offs and landings that we have never seen before," he said. He warned that extending the flight time limitation beyond 900 hours in 12 months would lead to more pilots quitting.

"Other airlines spent years to retain their workforce and experienced [staff], but Cathay Pacific is chasing people away," he said.

Pilots at Cathay Pacific also complained about not having "a work-life balance." Furthermore, the Hong Kong airline has extended cost-cutting contracts to the employees, which for pilots means slashed salaries by 40 per cent and reduced housing and retirement benefits.

(With inputs from agencies)