Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

China Cracks Down on Cathay After Staff Join Hong Kong Protests

China Cracks Down on Cathay After Staff Join Hong Kong Protests

Employees suspended from airline’s flights to the mainland, after employees of Hong Kong’s dominant airline joined anti-Beijing protests.

China’s civil aviation authority said Friday it issued a major aviation safety risk warning to Hong Kong-based Cathay for failing to take appropriate action, and ordered the carrier to ban all employees who supported or joined the recent protests from flying to the mainland starting Saturday.

Cathay’s actions, or lack thereof “have led to a severe threat to aviation safety, created negative social impact and increased the risk of flying from Hong Kong to the mainland,” the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in the statement.

For Cathay, controlled by the U.K.’s Swire family, the directive forces it to choose between fueling the wrath of its workers or those of China -- possibly the company’s most important market. Though the carrier doesn’t disclose a breakdown of its mainland China business, flights originating from there and Hong Kong account for about half of the firm’s revenue.

The Chinese authority also ordered Cathay to submit information about all crew members flying to the mainland for verification and authorization starting Sunday. The carrier will also be required to submit a plan for boosting internal controls, flight safety and security by Aug. 15, CAAC said.

The airline is treating the CAAC’s directives very seriously, a spokesperson said. The company doesn’t tolerate any behavior that may affect aviation safety, the representative said, reiterating earlier comments.

Cathay, one of the most high-profile brands in Hong Kong, became a visible target for Beijing this week after many of its employees took part in a general strike on Monday that resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights. One of the company’s pilots was among the dozens of people charged in recent weeks because of the protest, according to the South China Morning Post.

The actions of Cathay’s employees prompted the English-language Global Times, a nationalist paper published by the Communist Party, to warn this week the company would “pay a painful price.”

Mounting scrutiny from state media prompted Cathay, which counts government-run Air China Ltd. as its second-largest shareholder, to say on Friday -- before the CAAC statement -- that while it supports the “one country, two systems” principle governing Hong Kong, it doesn’t condone activities that may jeopardize the city’s stability or impact aviation safety.

“The personal behavior of individual employees does not represent the company’s position,” it said in that statement. “There is zero tolerance to any inappropriate and unprofessional behavior that may affect aviation safety. ”

While Cathay has already warned the unrest affected ticket sales in July and is hurting future bookings, the economic fallout has stretched far beyond the airline. Hong Kong’s gross domestic product contracted in the second quarter from the previous three months, leaving open the prospect of a technical recession if the protests continue.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×