80 Finnair cabin crew recruited in Hong Kong told to ‘look for new jobs’

A group of 80 Hongkongers recruited as flight attendants for Finnair have been told by a recruitment agency to “look for new jobs” before they even start working for the airline.

One woman, who asked not to be named, said she was hired by OSM Aviation in October to become a flight attendant for Finland’s national airline.

The group were recruited after Finnair and OSM Aviation signed an agreement on outsourcing of cabin services on Finnair’s routes to Hong Kong and Singapore.

The woman said the group were then sent to the Finnair Flight Academy in the capital Helsinki for one and a half months’ training.

They were each paid allowances of HK$17,000 for the training, but have not been paid since returning to Hong Kong.

The woman said OSM originally told them they could start working in mid-January. But in a meeting last Thursday, they were told that they might want to look for new jobs.