Cathay vows to step up after error led to 800 canceled flights

Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific admitted in a report that it had made an internal planning error that led to about 800 flights being canceled between December and last month.

But the airline guaranteed that similar mistakes would not occur during the Easter holiday peak season.

In a document submitted to the Legislative Council panel yesterday, the Civil Aviation Department said Cathay admitted that the mass cancellation was caused by an internal error in manpower planning and underestimation of pilot reserve levels.

The airline also lacked a system to track monitoring parameters, which include pilots' available flight hours.

"Having reviewed Cathay's report, the CAD's observation is that the airline's planning team lacked the experience and digital capability to forecast crew resources sufficiently," the department said.

"Coordination among departments responsible for service planning and crew availability was also inadequate. It is necessary for Cathay to use an effective planning tool for crew resources to provide stable and reliable service to passengers."

It added the airline should "demonstrate that it has in place the necessary corporate governance for its various departments to communicate effectively and ensure the continuity and regularity of services."

Cathay has proposed various measures to prevent similar incidents from happening.

In the short run, the airline will focus on ensuring schedule stability by conducting detailed headcount planning to ensure sufficient available pilots, especially during upcoming travel peaks.

The airline has also set up a task force to review its organizational structure and operational planning process.

"No flight cancellation by Cathay due to crew issues was reported during the Chinese New Year travel peak. With ongoing improvement efforts, Cathay has assured that there will be no similar flight cancellations during the upcoming Easter travel peak," the CAD said.

"In fact, [the airline] has further reassured the government and public that it will endeavor to ensure there will be no similar flight cancellations in future."

Cathay was told by the government that its network planning should support the government's policies and meet its strategic development needs.

It should also explore potential new destinations in the mainland, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe, the department said.

Cathay Group, including Cathay Pacific and budget airline Hong Kong Express, has resumed 70 percent of its prepandemic passenger flights. The aim is a full recovery by early next year.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com