Cathay Pacific Restarts Limited Cargo Service After COVID Pause

Cathay Pacific will partially resume long-haul cargo service on Friday following a week-long suspension tied to Hong Kong's more aggressive quarantine measures for cockpit crews and operate at about a fifth of its pre-pandemic cargo capacity for the month of January, FreightWaves has learned.

The combination airline last week grounded freighters serving the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Southwest Pacific after health authorities increased the quarantine period for Hong Kong-domiciled crews from three to seven days, reducing the number of available pilots.

Short-haul regional cargo service will remain intact, a spokesperson said in an email message.

In total, the company plans to operate at 20% of its cargo capacity this month, mostly through the use of all-cargo aircraft as it adjusts to the long isolation period for containing the omicron variant. Normally, the carrier heavily relies on its widebody passenger fleet to carry a large chunk of its cargo volume, but will only activate about 2% of its 2019 passenger flight capacity. 

"We will adopt measures to operate as many cargo services as possible while complying with the latest COVID-19 regulations," the statement said. "It will also strive to maintain passenger connectivity with key destinations, although at reduced frequencies, under the confines of the place-specific and flight-specific suspension mechanism.

Cathay is facing additional scrutiny from authorities because five of its aircrew recently tested positive for COVID during their testing and isolation period. The company said the crew members violated company safety rules and fired two of them.

Hong Kong is following China's zero-tolerance policy for COVID. Harsh social distancing measures are being implemented again as cases of the omicron variant grow, frustrating many local businesses trying to stay afloat.

Cathay is one of the largest air cargo companies in the world by volume and operates a fleet of 20 Boeing 747 freighters. The shutdown of aircraft exacerbates already tight market conditions that have resulted in record-high airfreight rates as major seaports and airports remain clogged amid robust consumer and industrial demand for goods.

The anti-COVID policies and border restrictions, along with travel measures in other countries, have decimated Cathay's passenger business. The carrier has no domestic market to buffer the near-total loss of international passenger revenue. Cargo has been a lone bright spot, but the measures began to reduce Cathay's capacity early last year and eventually forced FedEx Express to move its pilot base. 

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch. 

Related News:

Cathay Pacific suspends cargo flights as Hong Kong tightens COVID rules

FedEx shutters Hong Kong pilot base over COVID restrictions

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