Cathay staff feel pain of SARS

By Michael Clarke

CATHAY Pacific’s 198 UK staff have been asked to take unpaid leave as it attempts to contend with a 65.7% drop in April traffic.

The carrier, ravaged by SARS, has told staff to take four weeks unpaid leave between June and September to help alleviate its crippling costs. The reduction in take-home pay will be spread over six months to help ease the financial burden on employees.

Cathay has slashed its schedule by 45% and temporarily grounded 16 aircraft last week to strip capacity out of its business.