Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific slashes flying hours required to train as captain by 25% amid flight disruptions and manpower crunch
- Number of hours cut from 4,000 to 3,000 for pilots to be eligible to apply for captain training
- Measure draws flak from the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, which said the measure isn’t a solution
But the measure has drawn concern from the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, which said that the measure was not a “solution”.
The 25 per cent cut in hour eligibility for pilots who hoped to receive training to become a captain was approved by the Civil Aviation Department in November and introduced in the operations manual of the carrier on Wednesday. The 3,000 hours would include those served by a pilot acting as a first officer on at least 500 Cathay take-offs and landings.
“If we do not make this adjustment, many first officers who fly short-haul flights wouldn’t be eligible to have the upgrade training to be a captain,” a Cathay spokesman told the Post. “In the year of 2024 to 2025, about 100 more pilots will be eligible for the training.”
The spokesman stressed that the curriculum, standards and how a candidate passed the examinations remained unchanged and had to meet standards set by the department. He expressed confidence that enough second officers would be trained in time to replace the number of first officers promoted to captain.
