Exclusive | FedEx shuts down Hong Kong pilot base, blames Covid-19 policies that have left ‘no clear timeline’ for return to normal
- Package delivery giant becomes one of the first high-profile companies to shift strategy on the basis of Hong Kong’s tough pandemic regulations
- Industry stakeholders say move evidence of tough operating conditions created by zero-Covid approach, but company’s flights in and out of city likely to be unaffected
In a company memo revealing that a January decision to move its pilots out of the city was now permanent, Robin Sebasco, FedEx’s system chief pilot, said the airline needed to “adjust” to the economic, regulatory and business environment worldwide.
Industry stakeholders said the move reflected the increasingly tough operating environment for businesses under the government’s strict quarantine policy, although the decision was seen as unlikely to affect FedEx’s flights in and out of the city, which are largely operated by pilots based in California.
While Hong Kong has seen almost no local coronavirus infections for months under its zero-Covid strategy, mandatory 21 days’ hotel quarantine for those returning from many destinations means the city is effectively shut off from the outside, even as the rest of the world reopens.
“The decision to close the Hong Kong base reflects this constant evolution and is designed to provide a measure of stability to these team members, as there is no clear timeline when life may return to normal in Hong Kong,” Sebasco said.
