Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific to step up hiring more pilots from mainland China

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways will recruit more pilots from mainland China to diversify its workforce after the first batch of 30 cadets from across the border finished training and started flying.

Chris Kempis, the airline’s director of flight operations, said on Monday that 60 mainland cadets from a pool of more than 750 applicants had entered its pilot programme since its expansion in 2023.

Among the first group of mainland recruits, 30 have already qualified as second officers after completing training in Australia. Other cadets are currently undergoing training in the United States.

“We are open to many more [cadets] in the future, and we look forward to that,” Kempis said, highlighting the cadet scheme’s ongoing role as a key source of pilots.

He said that the programme had trained more than 1,100 pilots since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cathay currently employs 3,200 pilots, a 23 per cent jump from 2,600 in February, which is more than what it immediately needed, Kempis said. He said the group had more than 500 pilots with its budget carrier HK Express.