Civil Aviation Department officials today met Cathay Pacific Airways management to once again express the department’s concern over the carrier’s recent flight arrangement issues.

Stressing that it was extremely undesirable for Cathay Pacific to cancel a number of flights for consecutive days and in the remainder of January and February, the department requested the airline to properly manage its deployment of manpower and other resources in order to ensure the stable provision of reliable flight services to passengers, especially for meeting the travel demand during the coming Chinese New Year peak season.

It also asked Cathay Pacific to submit a report by the end of the month to explain the cause of the incident and the approach to its flight arrangements in order to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

Regarding the current flight arrangement situation, the Civil Aviation Department again urged Cathay Pacific to explain clearly to the affected passengers as soon as possible the arrangements after flight consolidation - such as refunds or rescheduling, so as to minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers.

The department reiterated that the airline is responsible for providing reliable services to passengers, and the flight cancellations fall short of both the Government and the public's expectations.

Noting that it understood the public’s concern over the incident, it added that it will continue to closely monitor the measures adopted by Cathay Pacific, and take appropriate follow-up action upon studying the report in detail.