Hong Kong quarantine raised safety discussion at UK aviation body

Hong Kong’s harsh quarantine policies have sparked discussion at the UK’s aviation watchdog about air safety and the wellbeing of crew, emails reveal. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials broached the issue of safety in November after the entire crew of a BA flight was sent to a quarantine camp in Hong Kong in response to a single crew member testing positive for COVID-19. BA subsequently contacted the CAA seeking an exemption from flight time limits – known as Flight and Duty Time Limitations (FTL) – to avoid laying over in Hong Kong and running the risk of having aircrew quarantined in future, citing concerns about their mental health as well as conditions in the camp. After BA’s request, CAA officials expressed concerns about the impact of Hong Kong’s quarantine policies on aircrews’ mental wellbeing, according to the emails, which were obtained following a freedom of information request. “Have we had any contacts with HKG regarding the ‘incarceration’ of aircrew as described by BA?” a CAA official wrote to a colleague, referring to the Hong Kong government. “Do we have any channels we can explore? The mental well being concern is very real. Driving operators to utilise extended FTL to avoid lay overs [sic] is in nobodies [sic] interest.” In response, the CAA colleague said he agreed the “situation sounds pretty horrendous for crew”. Story has more.<br/>