BA axes Hong Kong crew ahead of base closure

BA axed its entire Hong Kong crew Wednesday ahead of the closure of its local base next month, the airline’s head office has confirmed. Unionists said 57 of the 85 Hong Kong-based flight attendants were laid off immediately, with another 24 to finish at the end of next month when their contracts expired. They slammed the move as “inhumane” and “ugly”. Britain’s national airline, which has been flying to the city for 82 years, said it would close its Hong Kong cabin crew base at the end of October. The carrier operates two daily flights from Hong Kong to London Heathrow. “While we are really grateful to our crew in Hong Kong for all of their hard work and dedication over the years, our strategic model going forward is to operate this route entirely with London-based crew,” a company spokeswoman said, implying flights would not be affected. She said employees in Hong Kong had been told about the closure. The decision was made after a “detailed and thorough” review of the company’s global operation, she said. “We have promised our cabin crew based in Hong Kong our full support at this time,” the spokeswoman said, adding the company was confident the service level would be maintained.<br/>