Cathay Pacific Terminated Three Pilots Who Caught COVID in Frankfurt, Germany

Cathay Pacific fired three of its pilots after catching COVID19 in Frankfurt. According to the airline, the three Cathay Pacific pilots committed a “serious breach” in COVID19 protocols during “overseas layovers”.

In a statement by Cathay Pacific, “After investigation into these cases, regrettably, the findings indicate a serious breach of requirements during crew overseas layovers”. The airline added, “The individuals concerned are no longer employed by Cathay Pacific”.

However, the airline didn’t specify details on how the “serious breach” happened. Cathay Pacific announced that it will continue reviewing protocols. The airline said that “The safety and well being of our customers, employees and the community remain our absolute priority”.

Incident with Three Cathay Pacific Pilots an Isolated Case

Cathay Pacific claims that this is just an “isolated” case. It said in a statement that “Our aircrew have been keeping our business operating and Hong Kong connected to the world throughout the pandemic”. Cathay added that “The professionalism, compliance and resilience of all our employees in upholding safe operations throughout this period has been exceptional”. It also added that “we believe these cases are isolated incidents”.

In a response to the investigations, the Hong Kong government told Cathay to ensure that there is no repeat of such incident. The government reminded the airline to “comply with the anti-epidemic regulatory requirements”.

In a statement by the Hong Kong government “The (Transport and Housing Bureau) is deeply regretful of and can hardly accept the concerned cargo crew’s non-compliance”.

Other 150 Cathay Staff Quarantined

The three Cathay Pacific pilots infected with COVID caused more than 150 staff to quarantine. Their close contacts also have to quarantine in a government isolation facility at Penny’s Bay.

This includes more than 120 students at Discovery Bay International School where a pilot’s wife and two sons attend.  On the other hand, 70 friends and colleagues of the other two pilots quarantined.

Cathay said that it acknowledges the impact of the incidents especially those who had to do quarantine.