**Danny Lee
Published : 10:00am, 2 Dec, 2021**
* The move is just the latest to pile pressure on Cathay Pacific, which rushed staff members home before midnight on Tuesday ahead of potential new quarantine rules
* Airline plans to reactivate its US pilot base, send Boeing 777 and 747 crew currently based there to Hong Kong for training
* Hong Kong has asked airlines to begin creating separate teams that will strictly work flights to mainland China. Photo: Winson Wong
Hong Kong health officials have asked airlines to begin maintaining separate teams that will fly exclusively to and from mainland China to further reduce the risk of Covid-19 entering the country, the Post has learned.
The decision to separate China aircrew from those working international routes was made in light of the emerging Omicron variant, sources said, as officials weighed even tougher rules and fewer exemptions for flight personnel.
The new measures, which come as Hong Kong rushes to meet Beijing’s requirements for reopening the mainland border, will add yet more cost and operational complexity for city flagship carrier Cathay Pacific, which is already facing increased workforce pressures.
Cathay told staff on Thursday it would reactivate its US pilot base and send Boeing 777 and 747 crew currently based there to Hong Kong for training.
The decision puts on ice the airline’s initial plan to review closing down its US base, which employed around 140 pilots. Outposts in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Canada and Australia were shut earlier this year, leaving about 380 crew members without a job.
The airline is already pushing ahead with contingency measures that could see some of its pilots relocated overseas.
In a memo to staff on Wednesday night, Cathay general manager of operations Mark Hoey said the company was poised for the government to act on the new rules imminently.