By David Shepardson
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. authorities warned it might restrict flights by Hong Kong-based carriers that obtained a leg up on U.S. rivals after the Asian monetary hub imposed quarantine guidelines that pressured U.S. cargo service FedEx Corp FDX.N to maneuver some crews to San Francisco.
The U.S. Transportation Division (USDOT) issued an order on Tuesday requiring Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Restricted 0293.HK to file flight schedules for all U.S. flights inside seven days to find out if any are “opposite to relevant regulation or adversely have an effect on the general public curiosity”.
The USDOT order was issued in response to guidelines issued by Hong Kong in January requiring regionally based mostly air crews to quarantine when returning there from worldwide areas, however exempted flights between Hong Kong and Anchorage, Alaska’s largest metropolis.
USDOT stated Hong Kong’s restrictions completely benefited Hong Kong carriers and “impaired the working rights of U.S. carriers”.
Whereas FedEx’s Hong Kong-based crews serve solely intra-Asia routings and subsequently don’t profit from the Anchorage exception, USDOT stated, Hong Kong service Cathay Pacific operates a big transshipment operation at Anchorage.
“This carve out successfully offers Cathay Pacific with the power to proceed these operations with out influence from the brand new crew quarantine necessities,” stated USDOT.
Cathay Pacific stated it hoped the matter is “resolved amongst all related events as quickly as potential,” including it has been hit exhausting by the quarantine measures and diminished weekly freighter frequency between Hong Kong and U.S. from 35-39 flights to 21-28 flights.
The airline has reduce passenger capability by about 60% and cargo capability by 25% of January ranges.
The Hong Kong Transport and Housing Bureau stated U.S. considerations have been “unfounded” and defended the Alaska exemption as “equally relevant to all airways” and together with “stringent self-isolation necessities”.
The company added it has “will proceed to interact FedEx in constructive dialogues, with a view to exploring and co-creating choices to deal with the corporate’s enterprise and operational points whereas upholding the necessity to safeguard the general public well being of our group.”
It stated FedEx had quickly relocated its Hong Kong-based crews to San Francisco “with a purpose to keep the viability of crucial operations in its intra-Asia community.”
On Tuesday, a FedEx spokesman stated it hoped the USDOT order “will assist in resolving this matter” and added it was working with U.S. and Hong Kong authorities and the Air Line Pilots Affiliation “to deal with Hong Kong’s entry and quarantine necessities for locally-based crew members”.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; extra reporting by Farah Grasp in Hong Kong; Enhancing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa, David Gregorio, Philippa Fletcher)
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