[cwoodward]

[postquote quote=1194665]

Cathay has already temporally transferred some pilots to the US perhaps more of this considering the latest quarantine situation.
Or just possibly they will purchase a non HKG based airline in the near future.

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stevescoots

[IanFromHKG]

CX have just announced they are suspending all long-haul cargo flights for a week to give themselves time to re-organise. It seems likely they will introduce “closed-loop” arrangements for cargo crew just as they have been doing for some time with passenger crew. Apparently there are only 1,000 quarantine hotel places available for crew, and with the pretty sudden changes over the last week from three days’ home quarantine to hotel (rather than home) quarantine, then extended to seven days’ hotel quarantine for cargo crew, the logistics have become a nightmare.

Predictably, the run on “jet-fresh” meat and veg has already occurred with the shelves at M&S pretty much stripped by midday today.

I read today that CX have lost HK$29.2 billion since the start of this debacle – which pretty much wipes out 3/4 of the taxpayer money that the government invested. Although they were breaking even last month, I doubt if that will last with the new rules.

[Tom Otley]

Bloomberg piece

Hong Kong Is Increasingly Shut Off as Inbound Flights Drop

“The city’s marquee carrier has scheduled just 150 inbound services in January, the lowest monthly total since May. Before the pandemic, the figure was close to 4,000.”

[Tom Otley]

Can’t catch a break, seemingly

Hong Kong leader lambasts Cathay Pacific over Omicron casesCrew members blamed for first local transmission of variant as airline stops cargo flights for a week

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, on Friday expressed “strong dissatisfaction” during a meeting with the airline’s chair and chief executive.

“Some [Cathay] crew members did not comply with requirements to undergo three days of isolation at home,” the city’s health minister Sophia Chan told a press conference. “The chief executive has expressed that these violations are totally unacceptable.”

[cwoodward]

Several crew have been dismissed. This is far from not the first time that this has happened with CX
crewhttps://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3161653/omicron-variant-new-years-eve-expected-mark-end
This outcome was almost inevitable as the breaches were frequent.

[Tom Otley]

Hong Kong suspends flights from UK and shuts bars

Eight countries, in total

Hong Kong Bans Flights From U.S., U.K., Six Other Nations
The eight countries from which no people or flights will be allowed to arrive for the next two weeks are Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the U.K. and the U.S., places with the worst omicron spread currently, Lam said. 

[AMcWhirter]

Air Canada has now issued a statement saying it will not resume Hong Kong services until March 1.

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/book/travel-news-and-updates/2022/hong-kong.html#/

[IanFromHKG]

And of course the HK government continues its relentless (and hitherto completely unsuccessful) campaign to open the border with the Mainland which, unsurprisingly, has been delayed *yet again* by the recent local outbreak (because, of course there is *no* Covid in China (rolls eyes) and travel from HK poses such a *huge* risk).

HK has a choice (sort of):
(1) Try to open the border with China, which is not in its control (and seems increasingly unlikely); or
(2) Open the border with the rest of the world and retake its place as an international hub

It’s all desperately sad. I love HK, but in light of the continuing stupidity and the difficulties it causes with travel and seeing our beloved Offspring, we are bringing forward our plans to leave HK and will do so this year rather than next. There are many more like us.

Incidentally, we have always accepted and lived with the fact that HK is a small and claustrophobic place, and the pace of life can be quite hectic. The work ethic here is extremely strong, which makes for a pressured workplace. We arranged our lives accordingly, with frequent but relatively short trips abroad (I rarely went away for more than a week and almost never for more than two) in order to reset, restore and recharge – something which is made almost impossible by the current rules and restrictions. In my case this (admittedly with other factors) meant I was suffering mental health issues (manifesting as increasingly frequent and severe anxiety attacks) on the run-up to Christmas and was signed off work by my psychiatrist for about a week-and-a-half. Thank goodness – it was precisely what I needed to get myself back into stability. But I almost certainly wouldn’t have needed it had I been able to take a *proper* holiday. Mental health issues don’t just affect those in quarantine, it affects those who can’t travel, partners, families, and so on. It’s a cumulative problem that is building and building. The new regulations will only make it worse…

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AMcWhirter, TimFitzgeraldTC, Frederic, Jacob, Tom Otley, ASK1945, GivingupBA, Montysaurus, MartynSinclair, stevescoots

[cwoodward]

I find myself in much the same situation as Ian and very much echo his thoughts. I have found that the best way for me to remain functioning and reasonably sane is to as time allows get out into into the new territories countryside and hike with the family, hit a few golf balls or take the dog on long walks. We need to get the border open one way or another but unfortunately this seems not to be within the HK governments gift. HK has always been a colony of sorts the large decisions have always been made by others who have not necessarily had the best interests of HK and its people as their priority. It has ever been thus and as we chose to live here we must accept these situations. This said there is no law against having a good moan about it.

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Frederic, IanFromHKG, Tom Otley, MartynSinclair

[CathayLoyalist2]

I can recall when I first arrived in HKG back in 1994 , the old timer ex-pats said you will need to get out of HKG 2/3 times a year to refuel. I quickly undertsood what that meant so Ian and CWoodward´s comments resonate with me. I can´t but help feel these restrictions are, in part, a calculated process to bring HKG et el Cathay Pacific to its knees. Singapore where I spent 16 years will undoubtedly benefit if it isn´t already

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TimothyTanks, stevescoots, IanFromHKG, Tom Otley

[IanFromHKG]

[postquote quote=1195662]

No chance of that now. You can still walk around in groups of four in crowded places like Causeway Bay, but God forbid (or rather, Carrie has forbidden) that you should do it on a golf course. Beaches, tennis courts, bowling greens and almost all other public sports facilities are closed. And the list goes on…

Meanwhile, having publicly humiliated the chairman and chief executive of Cathay by summoning them and chastising them for their employees’ rule-breaking, saying “As senior management, they may not know every act of their employees, but this cannot be a liability-escape clause. As head of an organisation, just like me as the [Hong Kong] chief, I have to take responsibility for everything”, she has done a complete U-turn (in the face of government and legislature members breaching government advice by attending a huge social event) saying “it would be ‘bad for governance’ if rule-breaking bureaucrats could ‘hide behind her’”, so she would not take responsibility for their personal wrongdoings.

This is insane. How are people supposed to stay healthy if they can’t exercise? What of the impact on mental health?

[stevescoots]

[postquote quote=1195662]

no law about moaning about HK govt policy?, Some may disagree

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TominScotland

[AMcWhirter]

From today’s FT.

(Clicking the link ought to circumvent the paywall)

Pro-Beijing media calls for Cathay Pacific to be punished for quarantine breaches via @FT
(mind boggling) https://t.co/aXcOVG8a7c

— starflyergold 💉💉💉 (@starflyergold) January 10, 2022

[MartynSinclair]

There was another FT article, (behind paywall) that presented a graph showing number of passengers arriving in HKG, year on year and number of flights (cargo and passengers). Passenger numbers appeared down 90%, flights down around 60%.

Article was about executives of foreign based firms that went home for Christmas and now cant get back in.

All incredibly sad…. It appears people are more scared of the PCR test on arrival and implications, than actually catching covid….

[IanFromHKG]

Martyn is right. My boss was caught out by the latest rule change, couldn’t change his flight and quarantine hotel bookings in time (just ask happened to us over the summer) and remains stuck in Australia. He is desperate to leave as he now runs the risk of becoming tax-resident there! So he is trying to put in backup plans for a wash-out in a third country which would delay his return to the office by another three weeks.

And all so that we can cross the border into China. Except we can’t…

[Author]

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