Cathay Pacific: No need to wear face masks when lying flat onboard

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

The fourth wave of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Hong Kong is severe, and the Hong Kong SAR government recently tightened crew quarantine measures but Cathay Pacific has gone the other way round. Recently, Cathay Pacific recently issued an internal notice to the inflight crew that First Class and Business Class passengers are exempt from wearing masks when sleeping on their backs. As a result, Cathay Pacific employees have raised questions to the notices. 

Cathay Pacific recently issued an internal notice to the crew that all passengers must wear masks and listed a number of exemptions from wearing masks, including "when the passenger is lying flat in Business Class or First Class" or "food or medication within 15 minutes time" etc. 

Some employees have criticized the employer for ignoring SARS-CoV-2. 

Zhang Shuhong, the president of the Civil Aviation Union, also said that passengers can take off their masks under the new guidelines. Many crew members are worried about accidentally contracting covid during their flight duties or in close contact with these passengers, indicating that they do not agree with the relevant measures. 

Cathay Pacific management argued that the seats in First Class and Business Class are relatively wide and separated. The high-efficiency particulate air filtration system used in the cabin can filter more than 99.999% of dust particles and pollutants.