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Cathay Pacific now requires all pilot candidates to be vaccinated against COVID-19

蘋果日報 2021/06/02 06:45


Cathay Pacific now requires COVID-19 vaccination certifications for any candidates applying for pilot roles with the Hong Kong airline, according to its latest recruitment posts.
The new requirements were seen in job posts for first and second officer positions, in addition to the usual qualifications such as pilot license and flying times.
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The Hong Kong-based carrier, which has experienced a drastic drop of passengers and service due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now hiring crew members and pilots as part of its plan to fully resume business after the pandemic.
The company hired 350 pilots in 2019 and 90 in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic began early last year.
In a letter to employees, Cathay Pacific indicated that it would consider making vaccination certificates part of the job requirement for all employees, as this was common in the aviation industry.
The document suggested 80% of locally-based pilots and 40% of crew members were vaccinated or had booked in for vaccination, and the airline indicated the vaccination rate of crew members was “unsatisfying.”
Cathay Pacific said it would consistently review the number of cabin crew members according to service demands. Despite a dramatic decline in ticket sales and the carrier did not expect business to recover within a short period of time, it started hiring because of the long application and training process. The airline said it aimed to be ready for the post-pandemic travel boom.
The company would also prioritize hiring Hong Kong permanent residents with professional qualifications.
COVID-19 had forced the airline to slash 8,500 positions and made 5,900 employees redundant last October, of which 5,300 were based in Hong Kong.
Chief executive officer Augustus Tang said in October this would save the airline HK$500 million (US$64.4 million) each month, lowering the monthly cash burn to between HK$1 billion to HK$1.5 billion (US$128 million to US$193 million).
He also said that the group would prioritize hiring ex-employees once pilot positions were available.
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