Cathay Pacific says firing unvaccinated staff was to keep customers safe

Cathay Pacific has fired a small number of unvaccinated aircrew who failed to provide proof of medical exemption before the 31 August deadline. 

According to The Standard, up to 80 unvaccinated cabin crew were in the firing list as the airline began disciplinary proceedings against them on 1 September. In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Cathay Pacific confirmed that it had part company with only "a small number" of aircrew who had decided not to receive either of the two available COVID-19 vaccines, and had not provided proof of medical exemption.

"It's clear to us all now that COVID-19 is a terrible virus and that keeping our customers, communities, and families safe is of the utmost importance. The pandemic has also had a huge impact on us operationally and border controls around the world have dramatically reduced our ability to operate with unvaccinated aircrew," the statement said. 

Cathay Pacific also confirmed that from 1 September onwards, it has been operating all flights with fully vaccinated aircrew. It was also reported that The Staff and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines has yet to receive a request for assistance from the airline's cabin crew, although some of the airline's ground crew have reached out to the union as they were required to to submit medical exemption proof before the 1 October deadline. 

However, Cathay Pacific said consideration was given to those who were unable to get vaccinated for valid medical reasons, or were on long-term leave, which accounted for the majority of aircrew who have not yet fulfilled the vaccination requirement.

Earlier this month, Cathay Pacific said it was following up on the small number of cases individually, involving aircrew who had not received the jabs. Meanwhile, the airline boasted a high vaccination rate of its Hong Kong-based employees, including 99% of pilots and 93% of cabin crew, who had already booked or received their vaccinations.

In August, Cathay Pacific required all Hong Kong-based employees and contractors to be fully vaccinated before accessing the Hong Kong International Airport's restricted areas from 1 October. Two months later, from 1 December, employees working outside the Hong Kong International Airport's restricted areas or in other Cathay premises have to receive vaccinations as well.

Cathay Pacific has been making efforts to sustain its business amid the pandemic as it lost about HK$7.56 billion in H1 2021 as its business was still severely impacted by the pandemic and virus variants. Looking ahead, Cathay Pacific is hoping to operate up to 30% of its pre-pandemic passenger capacity by Q4 2021, but this is dependent on operational and passenger travel restrictions being lifted.

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airline said in June that it would terminate the contracts of cabin crew who could not provide their inoculation records or offer medical reasons for not receiving jabs.


It's clear to us all now that COVID-19 is a terrible virus and that keeping our customers, communities, and families safe is of the utmost importance.  The pandemic has also had a huge impact on us operationally and border controls around the world have dramatically reduced our ability to operate with unvaccinated aircrew. From 1 September we are now operating all of our flights with fully vaccinated aircrew.



had decided not to receive either of the two available COVID-19 vaccines and had not provided proof of medical exemption.