FedEx pilots have called on the cargo company to suspend operations to Hong Kong after claiming they were subjected to “unacceptable risks” under the city’s tightened coronavirus restrictions on air crew.
The dispute highlights the challenge for governments, especially in entrepots such as Hong Kong, of imposing tighter quarantine measures on critical trade-related industries.
The Air Line Pilots Association said on Tuesday night that three FedEx Express pilots, who tested positive for Covid-19 but showed no symptoms, were forced to stay in government-mandated hospitals for 10 days.
ALPA, the world’s biggest airline pilot union, also said that several pilots who had tested negative for Covid-19 but who had been in close contact with infected people, “were put into government camps under extremely difficult conditions”. The union did not specify when these incidents occurred.
The pilot group’s comments come as the Chinese territory introduced its strictest measures yet in a bid to halt a severe wave of new infections. Hong Kong reported 106 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, marking the seventh consecutive day of more than 100 new infections.
The city this week tightened restrictions on air and sea crew after experts said loopholes allowing these groups to enter the city without quarantine had sparked the latest outbreak.
From Wednesday, air crew will need to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken up to 48 hours prior to boarding a flight to Hong Kong, or be tested on arrival. Sea crew will only be permitted to travel between their ships and the airport. Crew from ships that are not delivering cargo to Hong Kong will not be permitted to enter.
ALPA said that FedEx pilots who had been quarantined in the city were subject to conditions that involved up to five patients per room with one shared bathroom, while government camps provided “very sparse provisions”. FedEx did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Not only do these situations pose unacceptable risks to our pilots’ safety and wellbeing, but they also create added stress and distraction for flight operations,” said Dave Chase, chairman of the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council.
“In Hong Kong, recent government mandates regarding Covid-19 testing have created unacceptable conditions for pilots, including our Hong Kong-based pilots and their families,” he added.
Sophia Chan, Hong Kong’s secretary for food and health, told a radio programme on Tuesday that evidence suggested the current outbreak may be linked to imported cases, reversing earlier government statements.
Elsewhere in the region, Singapore requires air crew on layovers in the city-state to remain at their designated accommodation at all times. A FedEx pilot was given a four-week prison sentence in Singapore in May for leaving his hotel to buy medical supplies.
The International Air Transport Association said on Tuesday it did not support “general testing for crew as a pre-requisite for [flying]”. The industry group said it did not believe Hong Kong’s testing requirements were necessary as air crew “tend to be isolated from the general population”.
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