Cathay Pacific to require Covid-19 vaccinations for HK airline crew by Aug 31

Cathay Pacific said on Thursday that all pilots and flight attendants based in the city would need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by Aug 31 or risk losing their jobs, in one of the airline industry's toughest policies. Cathay Pacific said it had struggled with staff rostering due to Hong Kong's strict quarantine rules on return that have been loosened for crew that have been vaccinated. There are also requirements that only fully vaccinated crews can operate to certain high-risk destinations and on quarantine-free "bubble" flights. Hong Kong has a surplus of unused vaccines and some of the shots are about to expire, city authorities have said. Cathay Pacific said 90% of pilots and more than 65% of cabin crew had been vaccinated already, or had appointments for vaccinations, following a previous warning that vaccination was highly likely to become compulsory. "We understand there will be some who cannot take a vaccine and we will look into accommodating them on a short-term basis where we can," the airline said. "However, we will review the future employment of those who are unable to become vaccinated and assess whether they can continue to be employed as aircrew with Cathay Pacific."Cathay Pacific's new policy was first reported by the South China Morning Post and comes amid varying industry approaches to crew vaccinations.<br/>