Hong Kong Civil Aviation Authority: CATHAY PAC AIR (00293) Planning Team Lacks Experience in Fully Predicting Crew Personnel Needs.

The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department previously requested CATHAY PAC AIR (00293) to submit a report to the Hong Kong government regarding the cancellation of over 780 flights from the end of last year to February this year. Cathay's report acknowledged shortcomings, stating that the causes of the incidents included internal planning issues and underestimation of the level of standby pilot availability. The company also lacked a system to proactively and comprehensively track various monitoring parameters, including individual pilot's available flying hours. According to documents submitted to the Legislative Council by the Hong Kong Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department has reviewed the report and found that Cathay's planning team lacks experience and digital capabilities, leading to insufficient prediction of crew resource demand. Coordination between the departments responsible for flight planning and crew deployment was also found to be inadequate. The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department believes that Cathay needs to develop effective planning tools for crew resources and demonstrate good corporate governance practices. The Hong Kong Transport and Logistics Bureau stated that Cathay has proposed several mitigation measures, including recruiting experienced crew planning personnel, using technology to monitor the crew recruitment process, providing training resources for crew members, and implementing an effective system to monitor the level of standby pilots. During the peak travel period of the Lunar New Year, there were no reports of flight cancellations due to crew issues, and Cathay has also assured that similar flight cancellations will not occur during the upcoming Easter travel peak. The Bureau also pointed out that as Cathay is Hong Kong's flagship airline, the Hong Kong government has informed Cathay that its flight network planning should generally align with the policies and strategies of the Hong Kong government to strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international aviation hub. Cathay is continuing to develop flight services on existing major routes and explore potential new destinations in mainland China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.