FedEx to relocate
Hong Kong-based pilots to San Francisco to avoid quarantine: memo
(Reuters) -
Freight carrier FedEx Corp will temporarily relocate its Hong Kong-based
pilots to San Francisco because it expects the Asian financial capital to
establish strict 14-day hotel quarantine requirements for crew, it said in
a memo to pilots.
The company said
it did not think it was appropriate to subject Hong Kong-based crew members
to extended periods of isolation, preventing them from seeing their
families after finishing a trip.
"While we
don't know what the rule will state, when it will precisely take effect, or
how long it will last, we do not want unknowns to prevent us from taking
action on what we understand may likely occur," FedEx System Chief
Pilot Robin Sebasco said in the memo seen by Reuters, which was first
reported by the South China Morning Post on Thursday.
A FedEx
spokeswoman said it was developing steps to comply with potential
quarantine measures in a way that prioritised the safety and well-being of
staff while allowing it to continue to operate to Hong Kong.
The memo said the
company would cover hotel costs and out-of-pocket expenses for pilots and
their families in San Francisco, while continuing to pay their housing
allowances in Hong Kong.
However, a Hong
Kong-based FedEx pilot said on condition of anonymity that there were flaws
in the plan. Many pilots have children in school in Hong Kong, he said, and
regardless, it will be difficult for families to live in hotel rooms for
weeks or months at a time.
Hong Kong's
biggest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, on Monday warned passenger
capacity could fall by 60%, cargo capacity by 25% and cash burn would rise
if the new quarantine arrangements were put in place.
Cathay, in an
internal memo seen by Reuters, requested volunteers among its crew who
could fly for three weeks, followed by 14 days of quarantine and 14 days
free of duty, adding that it would be a temporary measure and not required
for all flights.
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