US orders filing requirements for Hong Kong carriers over quarantine dispute

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) this week issued an order to Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express Airways imposing schedule filing requirements for all flights to and from the U.S. to address what it views as a competitive disadvantage stemming from current testing and quarantine requirements on U.S. carriers operating in Hong Kong. [caption id="attachment_94915" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo courtesy of Hong Kong International Airport.[/caption] The affected carriers are required to file all existing schedules for all-cargo, passenger and combination services for any services to or from the U.S. with the DOT within seven days of the order’s service date. The filings must include type of aircraft used, frequency and days of operation for each flight, specific airports served and departure and arrival times of each point. The only carrier currently affected by the ruling is Cathay Pacific, but all Hong Kong-based carriers with DOT authorization are covered by the order. The order is in response to 14-day quarantine requirements for Hong Kong-based flight crews, which U.S. all-cargo carriers and the DOT believe disrupt the “level playing field” for U.S. and Hong Kong-based airlines established under the current aviation agreement between the respective governments. Hong Kong’s requirements for Hong Kong-based crew, of which FedEx has about 180 members, make maintaining FedEx’s intra-Asia network via the Hong Kong (HKG) hub impossible, according to the order. The concerns first emerged in January 2021, when FedEx crew members faced long quarantine requirements in Hong Kong. At the time, union leadership representing FedEx pilots called for “immediate suspension of operations in Hong Kong,” including layovers. FedEx told Air Cargo World that it temporarily relocated its HKG-based crew members to San Francisco (SFO) in anticipation of the new requirements in February and continues to follow all CDC and FAA guidelines. Despite discussion between FedEx, Hong Kong’s government and the U.S. in early February, Hong Kong also announced a change to its quarantine requirement that excluded crews traveling between HKG and Anchorage Airport (ANC). While FedEx’s HKG operations do not utilize ANC for transshipments, Cathay Pacific does. “This carve out effectively provides Cathay Pacific with the ability to continue those operations without impact from the new quarantine requirements,” the order said. By excepting Cathay’s operations from the quarantine requirements, “Hong Kong already has significantly harmed [FedEx’s] operations and drastically upended the competitive dynamics of the market by implementing an exception for Anchorage at the outset of its new policy,” the DOT said. “We hope that the action taken by the U.S. Department of Transportation on March 16 will aid in resolving this matter,” a FedEx spokesperson told Air Cargo World of the order. “Hong Kong is an important market for FedEx, and we continue to operate and serve our customers there with the safety and well-being of our team members as our top priority.” Cathay Pacific told Air Cargo World that it has acknowledged the order and will comply with applicable aviation regulations in Hong Kong and the territories to which it flies. "The introduction of new crew quarantine measures on Feb. 20 has hit Cathay Pacific hard," a spokesperson told Air Cargo World . "As a result of crew resource constraints, our weekly freighter frequency between Hong Kong and the U.S. has been reduced from the usual 35 to 39 flights to 21 to 28 flights." Overall cargo capacity at Cathay Pacific decreased by about 25% from January 2021 levels, and operating cash burn rose by about 300-400 million Hong Kong dollars (US$38.6-51.5 million) per month. The spokesperson noted that the new crew quarantine measures only impact airlines with crew based in Hong Kong, while foreign carriers without Hong Kong-based crew are not affected, adding that "the vast majority of our aircrew are Hong Kong-based." "Cathay Pacific believes that it is in the interest of the general and traveling public for this matter to be resolved among all relevant parties as soon as possible," the spokesperson concluded. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents FedEx’s pilots, praised the DOT order in a statement shared with Air Cargo World . ALPA’s president, Joe DePete, said the current measures imposed by Hong Kong are “inconsistent, haphazard and pose an ongoing risk to U.S. pilots by forcing ‘close contact’ crews to quarantine upon arrival at a government quarantine camp,” while adding that the exception for ANC “puts U.S. carriers at a significant disadvantage.” ALPA requested that the DOT look into the issue in February, and DePete noted the organization is “encouraged by the DOT’s initial step and hope[s] that the DOT and the State Department will continue to press Hong Kong until the onerous testing and quarantine treatment of U.S. crews is rectified.”

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