London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Hong Kong Covid: The Cathay pilots stuck in 'perpetual quarantine'

All Hongkongers should expect to get a booster jab, respiratory disease expert David Hui Shu-cheong said, as a joint research by two Hong Kong universities showed that the Covid-19 variant Omicron significantly reduces the effect of BioNTech vaccines.

"You're just in a perpetual state of quarantine."

Pierre*, a pilot with the city's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific, has spent almost 150 days in isolation this year alone, he says.

Though Hong Kong has recorded barely any local coronavirus cases in recent months, the city has imposed an extensive testing and quarantine regime, in line with mainland China's zero Covid policy.

Pilots are not exempted from these rules - which means they spend an exceptionally large portion of their time either working or in quarantine.

These tough measures start at the airport.

All international inbound travellers have to take Covid-19 tests on arrival at Hong Kong airport and quarantine even if they test negative. They need to wait for their test results - which are made available on the same day - before they can proceed with immigration procedures.

"[Aircrew] have been on an aeroplane for upwards of 25 hours, sometimes closer to 30 hours if there are any delays," says Clark*, another Cathay Pacific pilot.

"They have to sit on a plastic chair and can't sleep, waiting for the tests. The whole process takes about four hours from the time you've landed to the time you get home."

If they test negative, they get to go home - but they're still not free.

In the first three days after arriving in Hong Kong, aircrew must remain at home. They can only leave for a maximum of two hours a day, and only to get tested for Covid or for essential activities.

Crew members then have to "avoid unnecessary social contact" for a further 18 days and continue daily testing.

"I don't think this is in any way fair or justified," said Clark. "Totally unacceptable."

When the pilots test positive, or in Pierre's case, are marked as a close contact of a positive case, they will be sent to hospital or a quarantine facility - like the controversial Penny's Bay centre that has been criticised for its living conditions.

Pierre said being in Penny's Bay was like being in "solitary confinement" in a cramped room that "got zero sun".

"I couldn't even see any plants, not a single blade of grass," he said.

A view from a room in Penny's Bay quarantine centre, Hong Kong


The families of positive cases and close contacts have also been forced to stay at the facility, including children and pregnant women.

Foreign aircrew flying into Hong Kong are also subject to these rules. Following reports that more British Airways crew were being quarantined at Penny's Bay, the airline recently suspended flights to Hong Kong saying they were "reviewing operational requirements for this route".

But the restrictions don't end even when the Cathay pilots are overseas. Aircrew have to stick to the airline's strict isolation rules while on layovers in other countries.

"You go directly from your room to the aeroplane. Fly, and then go directly back to your room and you're locked up in your room until you leave again," said Pierre.

Once at the hotel they must stay in their room for the duration of the layover, including meal times.

"Food gets delivered to your room, you open your door, get the food, eat it in the room by yourself," he said.

"There's a security guard outside your door. So you, literally, can't step into the hallway. We are in quarantine from when we show up at work until we get back to Hong Kong."

Resignation and retirement


In response to a request for comment on the pilots' grievances, Cathay Pacific reiterated its support for the Hong Kong government's quarantine measures, saying: "The safety and wellbeing of our customers, employees and the community remain our absolute priority.

"We regularly remind our aircrew of the critical importance of complying with anti-pandemic measures both in Hong Kong and overseas."

On the conditions at Penny's Bay quarantine centre, Cathay Pacific said it was doing its best to "help everyone affected", reiterating that Penny's Bay is a "designated government facility".

"We have scaled up our support, drawing on resources from across the group to get everything from electrical appliances, amenities and additional food supplies to those in the facility to help make their stay as comfortable as possible."

An example of the food served at the Penny's Bay quarantine centre in Hong Kong


Cathay Pacific said that it acknowledges the "burden" that had been placed on their aircrew.

"A pilot who feels unfit to fly in any way can express that to the management team without jeopardy and is legally protected in their right to declare themselves unfit for duty," the company said.

The airline also said that in recent weeks it had seen an impact on "current sentiment" in how aircrew felt about their jobs.

But this is cold comfort for some employees. The Cathay pilots told the BBC that they have applied or plan to apply for stress leave due to the impact their jobs have had on them psychologically and the strain put on their personal lives.

"It's almost a certainty that I'll be resigning in the spring... I'm leaving without an actual job and just resigning," said Clark.

"I would say, probably, 80% of those that I fly with are actively looking for work elsewhere... It's all we talk about."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×