Starved of Pilots, Cathay Launches Biggest-Ever Training Program
Pilots disembark a Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. aircraft as workers prepare to move the airplane to the adjacent Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage Facility in 2020.
Photographer: David Gray/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is seeking to train more pilots than ever in its 75-year history, as the Hong Kong-based carrier struggles to hire enough cockpit crew after mass resignations due to strict Covid measures in the Asian financial hub.
The airline will recruit and train 800 new junior pilots by 2025, working with Hong Kong Polytechnic University to revive a cadet program that was halted during the pandemic, according to a statement Monday. That marks a major expansion of the airline’s cockpit training plans as a global shortage of flight crew emerges as a major challenge.