Almost 40 people – including many children – were injured in a collision involving a double-decker and a school bus in Hong Kong on Thursday morning, with the school bus driver and two students sustaining more serious injuries.

The bus, carrying ESF Discovery College pupils, and a Discovery Bay bus collided at around 7 am near Sham Shui Kok Substation in Tung Chung. Police said 37 people, including 19 students, were injured.

Two students and the school bus driver who suffered from more serious injuries were taken to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment. Others suffered minor injuries and were hospitalised in batches. Police did not specify the injuries.

Photos circulated online showed that both vehicles had been pushed into bushes on the roadside and were severely damaged. Some pupils sat at the roadside while first aid personnel attended to them.

ESF Discovery College confirmed that a school bus travelling to the school in Discovery Bay on Lantau Island was involved in a traffic accident with another bus. School staff were onsite to offer support and liaise with the bus operator, the school said in a statement, adding it contacted parents of the students on board.

The Islands District Office set up an interdepartmental help desk in the emergency unit of the North Lantau Hospital to offer assistance to the public.

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Hong Kong’s population has risen to 7.5 million, according to provisional mid-year estimates, buoyed by a 64 per cent increase in people who do not live in the city full-time. Meanwhile, immigration statistics for 2023 showed that resident departures outnumbered arrivals by 291,000 until mid-August.

People seeking work in Hong Kong on a temporary basis were expected to account for almost a third of a population inflow that would increase the city’s population to 8.19 million by mid-2046, according to government estimates released on Tuesday.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Census and Statistics Department reported a 2.1 per cent year-on-year population increase of 152,000 residents in mid-2023, increasing overall population to 7.5 million.

See also: How to measure Hong Kong’s mass exodus

The rebound in population figures was attributed in part to people from mainland China being admitted to Hong Kong “through various schemes.” The department also cited the return of Hong Kong residents who went abroad during the pandemic as one of the reasons for the rebound in population figures.

“[W]ith the moderation of the epidemic situation and the gradual relaxation of anti-epidemic control measures, normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland and other parts of the world has been progressively resumed,” the statement read.

The number of “usual residents” – that is those who have spent at least three months in the city within six months before or after a chosen point in time, or non-permanent residents in Hong Kong at that time – grew by 0.8 per cent year-on-year to 7.25 million according to Tuesday’s figures. However, that number was still below the 7.33 million in 2021.

“Mobile residents” – or those who have spent between one and three months in Hong Kong in the six months before or after a point in time – rose by 64.2 per cent, to 248,700, this year compared to mid-year 2022 data.

Meanwhile, the net outflow of 291,000 residents marked Hong Kong’s largest since the beginning of the Covid pandemic in January 2020, when the Immigration Department began keeping records.

Temporary imports

The government has, in recent years, launched several talent and labour importation schemes that would “provide an important impetus to facilitate population growth” in the following two decades, according to the Census and Data Department’s statement on population projections.

But those workers, whom the government expects would mostly arrive from mainland China, would only be in Hong Kong on a temporary basis as they are not entitled to gain permanent residency status under the schemes.

Until 2046, the net inflow of population would be comprised of 890,000 One-way Permit holders, 510,000 non-permanent residents admitted through entry schemes, and 240,000 foreign domestic helpers, according to the department.

Among those schemes is a recent initiative to import around 20,000 workers in a bid to alleviate the labour crunch in the construction, transport and aviation sectors, but labour groups have criticised the plan for bypassing scrutiny of union leaders and ignoring the concerns of local workers.

Ageing local labour force

The ageing of the local labour force is expected to continue, as the proportion of elderly persons aged 65 and above is projected to increase from 20.5 per cent to 36 per cent – meaning more than one in three people will be elderly residents.

As such, the labour force participation rate is also projected to decrease from 57.2 per cent in 2021 to 51.6 per cent in 2046.

The city’s fertility rate is also expected to remain low, with the average number of children per 1,000 women increasing to 938 in 2046, up from 772 in 2021.

On Tuesday, a Hong Kong-based non-profit found that childless couples were on the rise, with not liking children and the large responsibility of raising kids the most commonly cited reasons for not wanting to have children or having just one child.

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Hongkongers who plan to move to Britain can pay to have their British National (Overseas) visas processed within five working days through a new expedited service, the UK announced on Monday.

The new priority service, which costs £500 (HK$4,971) and came into effect on Monday, showed Britain’s “unwavering commitment to the people of Hong Kong,” the UK government said.

The BNO immigration route was announced in July 2020, soon after Beijing imposed the national security law in Hong Kong. Under the scheme, BNO passport holders and their dependents can apply for permanent residency after living in the UK for five years. After one more year, they can apply for British citizenship.

Applications for the new route opened in January 2021. Since its launch, some 144,500 Hongkongers have received BNO visas, the Home Office announced on February 1.

The BNO passport was introduced in 1987 for Hong Kong permanent residents to apply for before the city’s Handover from British to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997. Before the new route was launched, BNO passport holders did not have the right of abode in the UK.

The scheme was expanded last November to include Hongkongers born after July 1, 1997, with at least one parent who is a BNO passport holder.

According to the Home Office, a BNO visa for two years and six months costs £180 (HK$1,790) per person while a visa for five years costs £250 (HK$2,490) per person. Applicants will receive a decision within 12 weeks.

The majority of BNO visa holders are university-educated and married, according to survey results published by the UK government last January. Around 61 per cent of BNO visa holders fall into the age group of 35 to 54, and 60 per cent of them have one child or more.

In May, British Consul General Brian Davidson said London was committed to continuing its immigration pathways for Hongkongers, but that he could not promise the scheme would extend beyond the next UK general election, which will be held no later than January 2025, local media reported.

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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has refuted “unfounded” online claims that tourists could stay at some of its facilities overnight for free, saying it may call the police for assistance if visitors remained on campus beyond opening hours.

In a statement released on Monday, CUHK said online rumours had been cited in news articles recently, which claimed that some of its facilities could accommodate tourists or visitors overnight at no cost.

 “CUHK hereby clarifies that these rumours and reports are totally unfounded,” the English-language statement read.

The clarification came after local media reported on guides to “free accommodation” in Hong Kong that had been shared on mainland Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, often referred to as the “Chinese Instagram.”

Platforms popular internationally, such as Facebook and YouTube, are inaccessible in mainland China without a VPN to circumvent the nation’s Great Firewall.

According to a widely circulated screenshot, a Xiaohongshu user made a post in March on how to find “free accommodation” at CUHK.

The seats in Ho Sin-Hang Engineering Building had sockets for charging, while the Yasumoto International Academic Park had a 24-hour study space which allowed people to stay overnight, the post read. The user also pointed to shower facilities and free Wi-Fi at the university.

“It means that we can basically live in the school,” the user wrote.

CUHK said on Monday that in recent years it had implemented campus access control and security measures, requiring all visitors to present their identity documents to enter. They must also state their purpose of visit in order to be allowed to access the Sha Tin campus.

The university is open to the public between 9 am and 9 pm, with visitors prohibited from remaining on campus beyond such hours.

“Visitors who violate these regulations will be expelled from the campus.  If necessary, the University will call Police for assistance,” CUHK said.

Prior to the anti-extradition bill unrest in 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic, members of the public could enter all universities in Hong Kong without restrictions. At the height of the months-long protests, some universities installed electronic gates to restrict public access as some campuses turned into brutal battlegrounds between the police and protesters.

Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.” 

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Hong Kong transport authorities have approved almost 2,900 applications to import aviation industry workers under a scheme to ease a manpower crunch in the industry.

The workers will cover 10 jobs under the scheme, including passenger services officers, which make up about a quarter of the newly imported workforce, as well as other ground crew workers and maintenance workers.

Following an assessment by the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB), the Labour Department, and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), 2,841 out of 2,889 applications were approved. Passenger services officers accounted for the largest proportion of imported workers, followed by ramp services agents, aircraft maintenance technicians and cabin workers.

“The TLB and the AAHK will continue to maintain communication with the consultative group and provide appropriate assistance to eligible applicants in order to ensure their understanding of the relevant requirements of the Scheme,” the statement issued Monday read.

“We hope that imported labour will receive training and work in Hong Kong soon, with a view to relieving the acute manpower shortage in the aviation industry and supporting the continual recovery of the industry,” a spokesman for the bureau said.

The almost 2,900 applications were approved under the first round of applications. The second will follow in due course, the bureau said.

Testing the waters

The aviation industry was named alongside the construction and transport sectors in June when the government approved a plan to import 20,000 workers in a bid to alleviate the city’s labour crunch.

Monday’s approvals accounted for about 45 per cent of the quota ceiling of 6,300 aviation workers announced under the importation scheme. Also under the transport sector, authorities plan to import 1,700 minibus and coach drivers. A quota of 12,000 was set for construction workers.

But according to a survey conducted by the Society for Community Organization, almost three-quarters of Hong Kong’s low-income workers oppose the government’s plan to import foreign labour amid manpower shortfalls, with many fearing they could see reduced wages or even job losses.

Speaking on Commercial Radio, Hong Kong Airline Service Providers Association president Vivien Lau said many companies who sent in applications were “testing the waters,” adding that the number of applications reflected a high demand for ground staff positions.

She added that imported workers’ wages must be higher than the median wages of workers with less than four years of experience.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Group, meanwhile, has also said it was seeking to recruit cadet pilots and flight attendants from mainland China this year, as it announced its interim results last week. The group announced in June plans to recruit 800 cadet pilots by the end of next year.

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Fewer mainland Chinese tourists were visiting Hong Kong mainly to shop compared to the pre-pandemic era, the city’s finance chief has said.

“In the short term, we need to work together with the industry to revitalise and invigorate the night market in Hong Kong, strengthening various economic sectors in the recovery process and maintaining the momentum of recovery,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan wrote in his Chinese-language blog on Sunday.

Chan also said that private consumption and inbound tourism were expected to be the main drivers of economic growth in the latter half of the year.

Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been recovering gradually since the city’s borders were opened at the beginning of the year after several years of Covid-related closures.

The city welcomed almost 13 million visitor arrivals from January to June, of which 10 million were from mainland China, according to figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced last Friday.

During the same period in 2019, the city recorded 34.78 millions visitors, 79 per cent of whom were from mainland China.

Dane Cheng, executive director of the HKTB, said during a press conference last Friday that based on HKTB surveys, the consumption habits of mainland Chinese tourists had changed, with fewer “coming to Hong Kong primarily for shopping,” and more interested in arts and cultural activities, especially young people.

Mainland China’s post-pandemic economic recovery has been weaker than expected, with July’s consumer price index falling 0.3 per cent year on year as the world’s second largest economy slipped into deflation.

Ceajer Chan, the former secretary for financial services and the treasury, said in Cantonese on RTHK on Sunday that Hong Kong’s recovery “has not met expectations.” Chan urged the government to allocate more resources to boosting tourism, such as promoting Hong Kong to foreigners.

Chan said that fewer foreign tourists visited Hong Kong because the city’s image has been impaired amid tensions between China and the US. He suggested the authorities hold more activities for foreigners to “rediscover Hong Kong.”

Night bazaars

Some pro-establishment lawmakers have suggested learning from Taiwan or mainland China to develop night markets in Hong Kong.

Michael Lee, a lawmaker from the pro-Beijing Liberal Party, told Chinese-language news outlet Oriental Daily that the city could develop waterfront night markets and offer various activities to attract people to consume and take photos to post on social media.

Lee also said that night markets could also help boost hotel revenue as travellers would be more inclined to stay at least one night to enjoy nighttime activities.

Eunice Yung, a pro-Beijing lawmaker from the New People’s Party, said there were already street markets held during holidays and on weekends, but the city should introduce permanent night markets with more activities.

However, according to HK01, Simon Wong, a businessman and the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades, said that restaurants would suffer from increased pressure if the government developed night bazaars.

Wong said that the industry had seen decreasing revenue for dinners this year.

According to Chinese-language local media reports, Yeung Wai Sing, the president of the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, said on Saturday that restaurants had faced difficulties in recent months, with many experiencing a lack of customers after 8 pm. According to Yeung, the industry has only recovered around 60 to 70 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels.

Yeung said the decline was due to the immigration of middle-class families and reduced spending by travellers. He added that tourists were now spending less: “Previously, where someone would spend HK$1,000, now they are only spending around HK$600.”

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On a Cathay Pacific flight from New York to Hong Kong in July, the four people on the flight deck were discussing their plans to leave the city’s flagship airline.  

Benjamin, an airline captain, told HKFP about that conversation in a cafe in Central soon after disembarking. It was not, he said, an uncommon topic. “There was one guy that’s staying with Cathay, but everyone else is leaving,” he said, adding that a pilot exodus from the airline had been going on for three years already. 

An experienced pilot from the Royal Australian Air Force, Benjamin, who asked to use a pseudonym, joined Cathay in the 1990s. At the time, the Hong Kong carrier was a popular choice among foreign pilots. “It was the highest pay, the highest standard, and the most difficult to get into,” Benjamin said.

But, he added, everything had changed since 2020 – and he had decided to quit. 

After surviving almost three years of stringent Covid-related travel restrictions that brought Hong Kong travel and tourism to a standstill, Cathay Pacific announced plans to fast-track its recovery.

On Wednesday, it posted its first half-year profit since pandemic, vowing to “share the success” with its staff. It has also set a target of restoring 70 per cent of its pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity by the end of this year, and 100 per cent by the end of next year.

However, according to several pilots HKFP spoke to, for them, the journey ahead looks less promising. 

Paul Weatherilt, chairman of the Cathay pilots’ union the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association and a captain with Cathay, told HKFP he was very worried about what he termed a massive shortage of pilots, especially senior ones. 

According to union estimates, nearly 1,000 pilots resigned over the past three years and most of them were senior staff – experienced captains and those providing training to junior ones.

“Cathay has a privileged position… It’s Hong Kong’s airline, but they haven’t really done enough to address the shortage of pilots, ” Weatherilt said, sitting in the union’s Tsim Sha Tsui office. The downturn began in 2020, he added, saying it stemmed from pay cuts, a loss in trust, and the union’s paralysed relationship with the company. 

In an interview with HKFP, Jack Bennett, general manager aircrew at Cathay Pacific, said he could not provide pilot resignation figures for the past three years, but said the airline “has sufficient pilots to support out current schedule.”

“I think it’s not a secret that the morale has taken a hit over everything that’s happened in the last few years,” Bennett said. “What we’re focused on is trying to rebuild the business trying to get as many of our crew back up and flying, get the promotions going and get the careers back on track… so that they can benefit from the productivity elements of the contract.”

A ‘proper’ contract

After flying with Cathay for over 30 years, Ethan, an Australian who also requested to use a pseudonym, resigned as a senior captain in the summer of 2022 to join another airline as a second officer – third in command on the flight deck. 

It usually takes around 10 years to become a captain, progressing through the ranks from trainee to second officer, first officer, and then captain – of which there are several ranks. But leaving one airline for another often means starting all over again from the bottom. 

All Ethan wanted, though, was “a proper contract,” one which he felt fairly reflected his workload and offered stable terms.

In October 2020, with the pandemic raging around the world, Cathay gave its pilots an ultimatum: sign a new contract or leave the company within two weeks. It also announced the closure of regional carrier Cathay Dragon, as well as 5,900 redundancies across the company, including all 550 Cathay Dragon pilots and some 80 pilots for Cathay Pacific.  

That new contract had been introduced for new joiners in 2018, and around 700 pilots have been hired since its implementation, according to Bennett. After Covid hit, it was extended to the entire crew.

According to the union, the new arrangements resulted in a pay cut of up to 60 per cent during the pandemic, and 25 per cent once pilots were back flying. The company pension contribution was reduced by 35 per cent and the education allowance was slashed by up to 50 per cent. 

The generous housing allowance offered to some on older contracts was replaced with a reduced fixed allowance, with Cathay providing a transitional allowance for those moving to the new contract.

More importantly, the new contract changed the way pilots were paid: from a guaranteed salary to a more flight hours-based system, at least 30 per cent of which is what the company calls “a productivity pay”. At Cathay, flight hours are subject to the company’s roster and are out of the control of pilots. 

Cathay’s Bennett acknowledged that the contract had been “a big adjustment” for aircrew.

Terms ‘may be varied’

All the pilots interviewed by HKFP said their current terms of employment were based on a staff handbook rather than a fixed contract.

A copy of the Cathay Pacific Employee Handbook for Pilots obtained by HKFP listed salary rates and allowances for different ranks of pilots, and said that those benefits and allowances “may be varied or amended by the Company from time to time”.

When Cathay introduced the new terms, Ethan said his total package was reduced by 50 to 60 per cent. But with the global aviation industry grounded by Covid, he had no choice but stay.

Like Ethan, many pilots agreed to the new contract conditions in 2020 despite disappointment and anger at the new terms. As international travel started to recover in 2022 – and Hong Kong remained isolated – and other top airlines resumed recruitment, a wave of resignations swept through the aircrew.

When an offer came in for Ethan from another top airline in 2022, he made up his mind to leave Hong Kong, a place he once called home and where his three children were born.

A weak position

According to the union, before the pandemic the Cathay group had a total of 3,835 pilots, including those from Dragon. While Cathay took over many Dragon flights routes after the latter’s dissolution, the carrier currently has 2,461 pilots including 767 captains, 54 per cent of the pre-pandemic level. 

Bennett confirmed the airline had around 2,500 pilots currently. He said that included 250 former Cathay pilots who had returned to the airline.

In January 2021, Cathay said 2,613 pilots had accepted the new contract. According to Weatherilt, that figure showed that Cathay had failed to increase crew numbers amid pilot resignations. 

Back in 2020, the union, which then represented over 70 per cent of Cathay’s pilots, proposed a different approach to “keep the team together” during the pandemic. 

Mason, a senior pilot from North America, who was actively involved in those negotiations, told HKFP that in early 2020 most union members had agreed to take a 50 per cent pay cut and no paid leave for two years to help the company out, but Cathay showed no interest in this approach. He also requested to use a pseudonym. 

In July 2020, the union was informed that the company would be terminating its recognition agreement on October 14. According to the agreement, signed in 2013, the company recognised the union as the sole representative of its pilots. 

Within a week of the recognition agreement ending, the carrier announced its new contracts to “ensure the Group’s survival.” 

Mason learned of Cathay’s redundancies and new contracts through news reports, and thought it was not the time to fight the company while the aviation industry was crippled by the pandemic.

“​​If we appear to be fighting, we’re going to look as though we’re trying to destroy the company,” Mason said, “but you could see it coming. You saw everything coming. That they’re just taking over.”

Weatherilt said the company took a big step to cut manpower costs permanently while the pilots were “in a weak position”, a move that seriously eroded trust in the company. 

‘Everyone is angry’

Mason signed the new contract with Cathay, mainly because he did not want to start again from the bottom at a new airline. 

But he said he now felt “stuck” in a company where morale was low and the working environment was “toxic,” a word used by several of the pilots HKFP spoke to. During flights, both aircrew and cabin crew often complained about the company, Mason said.  

With the new contract, flight attendants also suffered a significant pay cut. According to the flight attendants’ union, cabin crew saw a 14 to 36 per cent pay cut, with the basic monthly salary of junior attendants capped at HK$9,100. 

“It’s non-stop. Everyone is mad. Everyone is angry,” Mason said, adding that the culture had been different when he joined about 10 years ago. 

Looking back at the union’s approach in 2020, Bennett said the company had been focused on how to withstand Covid.

“We we were in survival mode. And nobody knew how long the pandemic was was going to go on, and quite how much of an impact [it] would have particularly for us in Hong Kong, for Cathay Pacific,” Bennett told HKFP.

Like many airlines globally, Cathay took a severe hit during the pandemic and accepted a HK$39 billion government-led bailout in June 2020, which the airline has to buy back in the form of preference shares. In an emailed response, Cathay said the group had lost HK$34 billion in the past three years. 

Bennett said the airline had made a few changes this year to ensure competitive renumeration, such as increasing the basic salary by 3.3 per cent, improving several pilot allowances, and offering a bonus of up to six-weeks’ pay. In 2022, the airline raised average pay for aircrew by 1.5 per cent and provided a discretionary bonus of up to one-month pay to eligible staff, he added.

Natural evolution

Yuen Chi-lok, a senior lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong specialising in the aviation industry, told HKFP that while demand for air travel had recovered, supply as far as Hong Kong airlines were concerned was restrained by a manpower shortage.

“Pilot recruitment is subject to the rules of the free market. If the carrier cannot hire enough pilots, in the end it has to raise salaries,” Yuen said, speaking in Cantonese. He said Cathay should also consider the valuable role unions played in improving staff morale and developing a corporate culture. 

However, Shukor Yusof, an aviation industry adviser, said Cathay “is not really rushing to go back to 100 per cent full capacity”, but rather was focused on restructuring.

“If you want to be very honest, they have taken the opportunity of Covid to slim down… to become a leaner airline… to get rid of unnecessary staff, and to reduce costs,” Yusof told HKFP by phone. A former aviation reporter, Yusof is the founder of Singapore-based aviation advisory firm Endau Analytics.    

Founded in 1946 and one of the oldest airlines in Asia, Cathay used to rely heavily on expat pilots, when Hong Kong had few locals to fill the posts. However, Yusof said those expats were very expensive.

In order to survive long-term, Yusof said Cathay must hire cheaper local pilots, which would also align with its repositioning as a Chinese airline. 

“Whether we like it or not, there is stronger political pressure from mainland China to bring Hong Kong closer to China… Cathay Pacific may no longer be the same airline as it was 10 years ago… it has become more of a mainland airline than a Hong Kong airline,” Yusof said. 

Under the contract introduced in 2018, there are no more expat packages. Mason, the pilot from North America, acknowledged those packages might have been “a bit generous”, but he said people often had a false impression of how much pilots earned.

According to Weatherilt, the most senior training pilots, of whom there are about 50, could have earned up to HK$3 million annually, including allowances, before 2020.

“That’s really a small group of pilots, those who joined the company probably 30 years ago,” Mason said.

Before the new contracts were introduced, junior pilots could expect to start on around HK$40,000 per month, and junior captains earned between HK$120,000 and 130,000 per month.

Yusof said that with the pay cuts the package was no longer attractive to pilots from Australia, the UK and the US, and the company would explore new recruitment markets in mainland China and in the rest of Asia.

“It’s a natural evolution… [Cathay] will remain a very strong international airline but the make-up of the employees in future will be more Chinese than foreigners.”

New joiners from mainland China

Mason acknowledged the sentiment. “It’s like getting rid of expats here. If you’re gonna stay here, you’re gonna follow this rule… There is no more fighting,” he said. “It’s a feeling of Hong Kong, not just Cathay.”

Launched in 1988, Cathay’s Cadet Pilot Programme has, for the first time, opened its door to mainland Chinese applicants this year. Previously, only Hong Kong residents could apply. The group aimed to hire 800 cadet pilots by the end of 2024.

“There is no shortage of manpower in mainland China… and they will cost a fraction of the salaries that foreigners are paid,” Yusof said. 

Responding to why the airline took this move, Bennett said Cathay “always had an intention to recruit a portion of our crew from the mainland,” adding that it also hoped to share its knowledge and expertise with more people.

Weatherilt said the cadet pilot training programme was a good plan for the future. “It’s a 10 to 20 year plan,” he said. 

But to solve the immediate pilot shortage, Weatherilt said the company must address concerns over reduced wages and low morale. 

Comparing the number of flights and available seat miles of Cathay Group in June 2019 and Cathay Pacific in June 2023, the current capacity is at 49 per cent and 51 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

According to Cathay, the group was close to 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, including the capacity of HK Express, which was acquired by Cathay Pacific in July 2019.

“We are always happy to help. We helped during SARS in 2003. We helped during the global financial crash in 2008. At the end of it, we were back on, we were on the same contracts,” Weatherilt said. But currently there was no official dialogue between the union and the company, and he had turned to the media to address the issue.  

“​It’s dysfunctional because the more I speak to the press, the less [Cathay] want to speak to me, ” Weatherilt said. Currently, the union represents 50 per cent of the aircrew. 

“At the moment, we feel the most efficient way to [communicate with the pilots] is to talk to our crew directly, ” Bennett said. “But, you know, when the union writes to us, we always respond to them, when they ask for meetings, we will meet with them.”

Bennett said the flagship carrier needed to be competitive and efficient.

“We understand that there are reasons for leaving… when there’s been such a big change, and we respect those decisions. But we have to be competitive, right? When we look at our competitors, not many of them are offering the kind of pay that our old contracts did… And that’s why we see a lot of people coming back,” Bennett said.

But Benjamin said he did not think things would improve.

“When you walked through the airport with your Cathay uniform, you felt like everyone knows…your profession is of a very high standard,” Benjamin said. “That’s all gone and that will never come back.”

He said he hoped the company would learn to value experienced pilots. Compared to decades ago, planes are very safe, he said. 

“But if something goes wrong, when there’s a typhoon, when the aeroplane loses an engine, or there’s a bomb on board… that’s why we get paid. It’s kind of like insurance. So we’re there in case something really bad happens, we can manage that issue and everyone will still survive.”

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Hong Kong recorded almost 3.6 million arrivals in July, an increase of over 30 per cent compared to the previous month. The figures, however, still pale in comparison compared to pre-Covid years.

According to preliminary arrival figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board on Friday, Hong Kong saw 3,588,530 arrivals last month. Over 80 per cent of arrivals were from mainland China.

“Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong have recovered the fastest in Southeast Asia, with visitor arrivals from the Philippines and Thailand each reaching more than 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels last month,” Dane Cheng, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said in a press release.

The figures make July the month with the highest number of arrivals so far this year. There were 2.75 million arrivals in June, according to the Tourism Board.

Hong Kong has seen an gradual uptick in visitors since relaxing its Covid-19 rules, under which arrivals had to undergo multiple Covid tests and at one point quarantine in a hotel for up to three weeks. The city maintained stringent measures even as countries around the world relaxed their protocols.

Recent arrival figures are still less than 70 per cent of what the city saw before the pandemic. In 2018, the last full year before the anti-extradition demonstrations and Covid-19 hit, Hong Kong recorded an average of 5.43 million visitors monthly.

Experts have warned that Hong Kong’s tourism sector – one of the city’s four “pillar industries” driving economic growth – faces a long road to recovery. Related industries are grappling with a manpower shortage after many workers changed careers during Covid-19, seeing no end to Hong Kong’s restrictions.

Businesses targeting tourists have also yet to bounce back, with sales a fraction of the pre-pandemic years, industry representatives have told local media outlets.

In February, authorities unveiled a “Hello Hong Kong” campaign to attract visitors, partnering with local airlines to give away plane tickets to the city. Chief Executive John Lee said Hong Kong was “back on the centre stage.”

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Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Group has posted its first half-year profit since 2020, with earnings soaring to HK$4.26 billion, as the group’s chair said the figure represented a “rapid rise” after heavy losses during the pandemic.

Patrick Healy, chairman of Cathay, thanked the Hong Kong government, shareholders and the public for their support during a press conference announcing Cathay’s interim results on Wednesday.

“Considering the extraordinarily challenging circumstances that Cathay faced during the pandemic, these results represent a significant improvement and reflect the growing strength of our business,” Healy said. The Cathay Group includes the city’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific, low-cost carrier HK Express and cargo airline AHK Air Hong Kong, as well as associate interests in Air China and Air China Cargo.

The group lost a total of HK$34 billion over the past three years, Cathay told HKFP in an earlier written response. In 2020, the government gave the airline a HK$39 billion bailout.

The airline announced on Wednesday it planned to buy back 50 per cent of the preference shares held by the Hong Kong government by the end of 2023, and to buy back the remaining 50 per cent by the end of 2024.

The profit came amid a bleak outlook of the mainland Chinese economy. As the second-largest economy in the world, China’s recovery has been sluggish since it relaxed Covid restrictions last December.

Beijing announced on Tuesday a 0.3 per cent drop in consumer prices in July compared to last year, and a 4.4 per cent year-on-year decrease in producer prices in July.

When asked by reporters whether China’s economic performance had affected the airline, the group’s CEO Ronald Lam said he was paying attention to mainland China’s economic developments but the group had not yet been negatively affected.

“International flights to and from mainland China have been recovering at a relatively slow pace. Therefore, the demand for flying internationally from Hong Kong is very high, which has had a positive impact on the group,” Lam said in Cantonese.

The group said that it was close to 60 per cent of pre-pandemic passenger capacity.

“We are on track to achieve our target of 70 per cent covering 80 destinations by the end of this year, and we’re confident of reaching 100 per cent by the end of 2024,” Healy said on Wednesday.

In addition, the airline announced that it was set to purchase 32 single-aisle Airbus aircraft for Cathay Pacific and HK Express, which would be delivered by 2029.

‘Sharing the success’

Cathay’s recovery has been slower than regional rival Singapore Airlines, which reached 90 per cent of pre-pandemic passenger capacity in July.

Apart from being subject to lengthier Covid-related travel restrictions, Cathay’s recovery has also been constrained by a shortage of aircrew, its pilots’ union Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA) said in a press release on Wednesday.

In October 2020, Cathay made 5,900 redundancies, including all 500 pilots of former subsidiary Cathay Dragon and 50 from the flagship carrier.

It also introduced new contracts for aircrew, which resulted in pay cuts of varying levels, HKAOA and the flight attendants’ union said at the time.

Paul Weatherilt, chairman of HKAOA, said in the press release that the group needed to hire 650 captains to return to 100 per cent of its pre-pandemic flight capacity after the redundancies and resignations from senior pilots after the introduction of new contracts.

Alex McGowan, Cathay’s chief operations and service delivery officer, said during the press conference that the group currently had “sufficient supply” of pilots.

Lam, meanwhile, said that the airline would be “sharing the success” with all of its staff. Cathay announced in July that it would provide bonuses of “up to six weeks” pay to all employees.

On Wednesday it introduced a new profit-sharing scheme for staff.

Hiring from mainland China

For the first time in its history, the group was seeking to recruit cadet pilots and flight attendants from mainland China this year, Cathay announced during Wednesday’s briefing.

“We have targeted to recruit 300 flight attendants in the mainland. So far we received 2,000 applications,” Lam said.

The group also announced in June plans to recruit 800 cadet pilots this year and next.

McGowan said on Wednesday that the cadet pilot programme had opened its door to mainland Chinese residents, adding that it has guaranteed a total of 300 cadet pilots from Hong Kong and the mainland.

Both the chair and the CEO mentioned China’s National 14th Five Year Plan in their opening and closing remarks, saying that “the Hong Kong international aviation hub has an important role to play in the overall development of China.”    

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Hong Kong Airlines will launch its free flight giveaway at 10 am on Monday, with round-trip tickets to destinations in Japan, Indonesia and South Korea available – the latest phase of a campaign aimed at rebooting tourism after the industry was crippled by years of Covid restrictions.

Open to people living in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Airlines is giving away complimentary are fares to over 20 Asian destinations from August 7 on a first come, first served basis. Those who succeed in booking tickets will be expected to pay all taxes, surcharges, and any other relevant fees.

Flights must be booked through a dedicated webpage.

Destinations in Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, mainland China, Thailand, and Vietnam are included in the Hong Kong Airlines campaign, which is part of the Airport Authority Hong Kong’s “World of Winners” promotion. In all, flights for half a million tourists and 80,000 residents are being offered to boost post-pandemic tourism.

Monday’s giveaway follows one from HK Express aimed at Hong Kong residents last month. In April, flagship carrier Cathay Pacific gave away return tickets to those living in the Greater Bay Area, and several rounds of air fare giveaways were held earlier this year for international tourists to win tickets to visit Hong Kong.

Winners of earlier phases of the giveaway told HKFP that the taxes they were asked to pay were steeper than expected.

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Hong Kong taxi drivers have been urged by the counter-terrorism unit of the police to report any suspicious persons, objects or activities they may encounter while driving around the city.

In a statement on Tuesday, police called the taxi sector – with over 18,000 taxis and around 46,000 active taxi drivers – a “gatekeeper of the safety of the community.” As taxi drivers came across a wide range of people every day, they had a higher chance of coming into contact with individuals engaged in terrorism activities, police said.

The Inter-departmental Counter Terrorism Unit (ICTU) had reached out to more than 40 major taxi associations and companies, instructing drivers how to identify suspicious individuals and report them in a timely manner.

Several “zealous” taxi drivers had already reported incidents to the police that led to the arrests of the alleged offenders, police added.

In June, two taxi drivers called the police immediately after seeing two groups of people holding weapons in Tuen Mun and Sheung Shui, preventing two criminal gang fights from occurring, according to the statement.

Additionally, in March, a driver who overheard some passengers plotting a violent attack was awarded the first Counter-terrorism Reward for being an informant in a bomb hoax case, police said.

“The above cases indicate that reports from drivers are absolutely crucial to crime and terrorism prevention,” the statement read.

Posters about counter terrorism will be displayed at petrol stations and tunnels, and appeals to taxi drivers will be made through radio broadcasts, according to the statement.

According to the same statement, the city’s counter-terrorism hotline had received over 20,000 reports from more than 5,000 informants as of mid-July since it was set up last June. Rewards will be given to those who provide intelligence that leads to prosecutions.

The police said last year that the hotline was an “upgrade” of an existing anti-violence hotline, which was set up in 2019 after protests erupted against an axed extradition bill.

In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city.

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The Court of Appeal has ordered a inquest to investigate the deaths of victims of the 2012 Lamma ferry disaster, more than a decade after the tragedy that claimed 39 lives.

Families of the victims have long fought for an inquest to be held after the Lamma IV collided into another vessel on October 1, 2012. The court’s decision came more than half a year after the city’s High Court rejected a bid to launch an inquest into the disaster.

In 2020, the Coroner’s Court told the families of victims that it would not investigate the crash, with the Department of Justice saying it would not initiate prosecutions.

Applicants Leung Shuk-ling, Chiu Ping-chuen and Tsui Chi-shing, whose relatives were among the 39 who died in the ferry crash off Lamma Island, had argued that it was in the public interest to hold an inquest into the deaths of two victims.

Rejecting the application last November, High Court judge Russell Coleman said than an inquest was not in the public interest. Chief Judge of the High Court Jeremy Poon and Madam Justices Susan Kwan and Carlye Chu ruled on Wednesday that Coleman’s ruling was “too restrictive.”

Speaking to reporters outside court, Leung said in Cantonese: “I’m thrilled, this is the first time in years that I’ve been able to smile in front of a camera,” adding that she hoped the investigation will get to the bottom of the incident.

Bulkhead not watertight

Leung and Chiu argued that the manufacturer of the Lamma IV vessel was well aware that the ferry’s bulkhead – an upright wall within the hull of the ship – was designed to be watertight.

In Wednesday’s judgement, Poon cited the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report dated April 2013 as saying that the ferry that carried the passengers who died in the crash was built with a non-watertight bulkhead.

The Lamma IV, licensed by the Marine Department after it was built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards Limited, had a bulkhead that was not fitted with a watertight door. That allowed seawater to flood into all but two of the compartments of the vessel after it was hit by another ferry – Sea Smooth.

Instead of sinking immediately, the vessel would have remained afloat for one-and-three-quarter minutes, if the flooding was limited to the two compartments that were initially flooded, said Royal Institution of Naval Architects Fellow Neville Armstrong, an expert witness of the COI.

“[W]hether Cheoy Lee knew that the Bulkhead was to be built as watertight is a fundamental issue that needs to be resolved so that the applicants and the families of the victims and the public would have a better and more complete picture of what had exactly happened[,]” Poon’s judgement read.

“It goes to the root cause of such a major maritime disaster,” Poon continued. “We earnestly hope that when the inquest is concluded, there will be closure for all of them, which is regrettably long overdue.”

Long working hours and construction issues

Poon also cited evidence that surfaced in recent years, including seafarers’ long working hours and additional issues with the construction and design of the Lamma IV detailed in a death investigation report submitted to the coroner in 2020.

The report, prepared by the police, said skippers employed by the company that owned the Sea Smooth worked 24-hour shifts. It also said the Lamma IV’s coaming – a vertical surface designed to prevent flooding or leakages from the main deck – did not meet the 300mm height requirement.

A spokesman for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said in a statement issued Wednesday: “We noted the Court’s verdict and will render full co-operation to the death inquest.” But it is inappropriate for the government to comment further matters relating to the inquest, as legal proceedings had begun, the statement read.

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The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) has released an accident investigation preliminary report into an aborted Cathay Pacific flight that left 11 passengers hospitalised during a take-off in Hong Kong on June 24.

According to report, the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft operated by Cathay Pacific Airways, and destined for Los Angeles, was carrying 293 passengers and 17 crew members.

The reason for the aborted take-off was a discrepancy relating to the airspeed indicated on the flight deck, the report read.

Warren Chim, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers Aircraft Division and a professional aircraft engineer, told Ming Pao earlier that – if something went wrong with the speed detection systems – the pilot should abort the take-off according to standard procedures as accurate speed detection was critical for a safe flight.

Hence, the pilot – in June – initiated the procedure for “rejected take-off (RTO).” However, the temperatures in the gear brakes were found to be increasing, and the tires were deflating as the aircraft taxied back to its parking stand, according to the report.

A fire in the left main landing gear was seen by crew members through a monitoring system after an explosion was heard and severe vibration was felt on board.

The evacuation began and the crew immediately alerted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and requested support, the report said, adding that 11 passengers were injured, including two with serious injuries.

The preliminary report stated that it would not include any analysis or findings, as the aim was to merely provide factual and timely information found in the early phrase of evidence collection to the aviation industry and the general public.

Evidence collected

The AIAA said it had carried out an inspection of the aircraft conditions, obtained relevant photo evidence and the airport’s CCTV footage, and gathered data from the onboard Digital Flight Data Recorder as well as the Cockpit Voice Recorder.

The air accident watchdog said it was set to analyse all relevant operational safety risks related to the RTO procedures of the flight, conduct an in-depth examination of the retained aircraft components, and review the operator’s emergency procedures and practices.

The AAIA said it welcomed members of the public to make representations as to the circumstances or causes of the accident by letter, facsimile, telephone, or email to the Chief Inspector.

The pilots and cabin crew aboard the Cathay flight that aborted the take-off were removed from flight duties in line with what Hong Kong’s flagship carrier said was “standard protocol” when dealing with such incidents.

After the accident, the Transport and Logistics Bureau said on its official Facebook page that the government was “highly concerned” by the incident. Cathay Pacific has expressed its apologies over the incident and said it would cooperate with the government for further investigation.

Just a day after the aborted take-off, another Cathay Pacific flight was suspended due to a leaking water tank, according to local media reports.

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The Hong Kong Airlines flight giveaway is set to open at 10am on Monday, with over 20 destinations available on a first-come-first-served basis.

Round trips include 20kg of baggage, though passengers will need to pay for taxes.

The campaign is part of the Airport Authority Hong Kong’s “World of Winners” promotion. In all, flights for half a million tourists and 80,000 residents are being offered to boost post-pandemic tourism.

The “Click & Go” promotion is available through the Hong Kong Airlines website.

Winners of earlier phases of the giveaway told HKFP that the taxes they were asked to pay were steeper than expected.

Meanwhile, a final Airport Express ticket giveaway will also take place at noon on Tuesday. MTR app users will save up to HK$110 on journeys to or from the airport, if they win one of the 25,000 tickets on offer.

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Hong Kong’s San Tin Technopole, an ambitious plan to create a huge technology hub near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, may adopt “innovative immigration clearance arrangements” to allow people from the industry to travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the Security Bureau has said.

The bureau’s comments were submitted to the Legislative Council on Monday in a document about the development of the Northern Metropolis, a major project announced in 2021 to integrate existing new towns in Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Fanling and Sheung Shui and develop other rural areas near the border.

“With multiple cross-boundary land BCPs [boundary control points], the Northern Metropolis will be the most important area in Hong Kong facilitating our development and integration with Shenzhen and connection with the Greater Bay Area, ” the authority said in the paper.

The San Tin Technopole is seen as the centrepiece of the proposed Northern Metropolis, spanning 627 hectares, including some 300 hectares for tech purposes and more than 50,000 homes.

“The Security Bureau will actively explore the implementation of innovative immigration clearance arrangements to facilitate clearance for the I&T practitioners in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in the future,” the bureau said in the paper.

The bureau did not specify proposals of “innovative immigration arrangements”. HKFP has reached the bureau for a response.

A new cross-boundary railway has been planned and has finished the second stage study, according to the paper.

The railway, named the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link, will connect Hung Shui Kiu, a small town in the northern New Territories, and Qianhai, in Shenzhen.

The Security Bureau said it suggested adopting a “co-location arrangement” for the railway.

When the Shenzhen Bay Port opened in 2007, it became the first of the city’s border crossings to adopt co-location arrangements, whereby both mainland Chinese and Hong Kong immigration authorities share a location.

In 2017, the government announced that co-location arrangements would be implemented at West Kowloon Station. While the authorities said the move would expedite cross-boundary travel, democrats and civil society groups raised concerns that the city was effectively giving up its jurisdiction over a quarter of the new terminus, where immigration and customs procedures would be performed by mainland Chinese authorities.

Hong Kong activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung was among a group who launched a legal bid against the co-location arrangement at West Kowloon Station. The Court of Appeal upheld the constitutionality of the arrangement in June 2021.

A new clearance mode

According to the paper, the government is also mulling introducing co-location
arrangements at the redeveloped Huanggang Port and the redeveloped Sha Tau Kok Control Point.

The two cross-border points will adopt a new clearance mode called “collaborative inspection and joint clearance.” The government said the new mode would see “clearance channels/counters for both outbound and inbound visitors… set up side by side at the boundary line of the two territories”, ensuring visitors would only need to queue up and have their documents inspected once to cross the border.

The redevelopment of Huanggang Port is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, while the government is is working on an engineering feasibility study for Sha Tau Kok Control Point.

The Security Bureau paper will be discussed by lawmakers on July 21.

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Hong Kong recorded almost 13 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2023. The figure, however, is less than half of what the city saw pre-Covid.

According to a Tourism Board statement published on Friday, Hong Kong saw 12,883,879 arrivals from January to June, with those from mainland China accounting for around 78 per cent of the total.

In June, the city saw 2.75 million arrivals with a daily average of about 92,000 visitors, provisional figures showed.

“The [Tourism Board] expects Hong Kong’s tourism will continue to recover steadily in the second half of the year,” the board said.

The tourism industry was hit hard during Covid-19, as the city enforced strict rules requiring visitors to quarantine in hotels at their own expense and undergo multiple Covid tests upon arrival. The city maintained stringent measures even as countries around the world relaxed their protocols.

The city only lifted its hotel quarantine requirement last September and allowed unvaccinated non-residents to enter in February. Experts have warned that the tourism sector faces a long road to recovery.

The 13 million arrivals over the past six months is only a fraction of pre-Covid figures. In the same half-year period in 2018 and 2019, Hong Kong recorded 30.6 million and 34.9 million arrivals respectively.

The proportion of mainland Chinese arrivals has remained constant across the three years at between 77 and 80 per cent.

In February, authorities unveiled a “Hello Hong Kong” campaign to attract visitors, partnering with local airlines to give away plane tickets to the city. The aviation industry, however, has warned that a shortage of staff – many of whom changed careers during Covid-19 – is stalling the industry’s recovery.

The Tourism Board said it would continue to “deepen” the Hello Hong Kong campaign and hold events such as the Hong Kong Cyclothon and the Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival, both scheduled for October.

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