Cathay Pacific Securities Hong Kong Government refuses to approve foreign flight attendant visas, foreign pilots are renewed for six months to three years

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Written by: Huang Weilun

2021-06-17 18:29

Last update date: 2021-06-17 18:33

Under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the aviation industry was in a depression. Last year, Cathay Pacific layoffs and Dragonair suspended operations.

Many foreigners in the aviation industry are working in Hong Kong with work visas. However, it is understood that since the end of last year, the Immigration Department has not issued new visas to foreign crew members, but has always claimed that they are processing them. Cathay Pacific has been discussing this with the Immigration Department. .

"Hong Kong 01" received news that Cathay Pacific recently announced to its employees that the Immigration Department is willing to continue to issue work visas to foreign pilots for a period of 6 months to 3 years based on different aircraft types.

However, all foreign flight attendants will not be granted renewal visas, that is, they will leave their jobs in disguise.

Cathay Pacific replied to confirm the above news.

According to the general employment policy of the Immigration Department, one of the conditions for issuing a work visa is that it is not easy to find locals.

Sources said that after Cathay Pacific ended Dragonair’s operations last year, nearly 80% of the former Dragonair pilots are still unemployed. They criticized the Immigration Department for not renewing visas for foreign pilots and allowing locals to remain unemployed.

"Hong Kong 01" is making enquiries with the Transportation and Housing Bureau and the Immigration Department on the incident.

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According to news, Cathay Pacific’s foreign pilots in Hong Kong have been approved for work visa extension applications. Among them, Boeing 747 pilots and training captains have been renewed for three years, and Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 pilots have been renewed for one year. They only hold Airbus. Pilots with A330 licenses have only been renewed for six months.

According to sources, Cathay Pacific currently has approximately 600 to 700 pilots holding work visas. Many of them fly Boeing 747s. Instead, they have almost no training captains and only hold Airbus A330 licenses.

As for foreign flight attendants who also hold work visas, the news stated that their visas will not be extended.

Due to the visa rejection, the relevant personnel need to leave their jobs.

When Cathay Pacific responded to the "Hong Kong 01" inquiry, it confirmed the above news. It regrets that the flight attendants have not been able to extend their visas. They pointed out that they tried hard to provide justifications for the renewal. Unfortunately, in the end, it was counterproductive. Cathay Pacific will try its best to provide the employees who are leaving Support, including resignation support, comprehensive employee counseling and support (EAP) services, and providing the same resignation plan as the voluntary resignation plan (VSS).

As for pilots, Cathay Pacific stated that it has restarted its recruitment activities in Hong Kong, hiring Hong Kong permanent residents with professional qualifications, and will consider extending the recruitment activities to regions outside Hong Kong in due course.

According to the "General Employment Policy" of the Immigration Department, non-Hong Kong permanent residents who have skills that Hong Kong lacks and Hong Kong needs them can apply for work visas to come to Hong Kong.

Sources said that Dragonair closed down last year and 560 pilots immediately became unemployed, of which about 400 held Hong Kong identity cards.

According to the news, a former Dragonair pilot conducted a survey last month and interviewed 179 former pilot colleagues holding Hong Kong ID cards. As a result, 138 people are still unemployed, accounting for 77.1%; only 5 people can continue to serve as pilots. .

The source also said that for the past six months, the Immigration Department has not approved the visa renewal application of Cathay Pacific foreign pilots, but Cathay Pacific has always hired relevant people and requested the Immigration Department to extend the visa, criticizing it as a violation of the General Employment Policy.

The news continued that although Dragonair pilots used to drive Airbus A330s, they only need one month of training to drive other aircraft.

Regarding the authorities only rejecting visa renewal applications for foreign flight attendants, the source expressed confusion and questioned the authorities' double standards.

The news continued that although it is not difficult to hire flight attendants locally, foreign flight attendants generally master foreign languages ​​that locals do not understand, and it is more difficult to replace them.

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