Chinese pilots on collision course with watchdog
BEIJING – Discontent is growing among China’s domestic pilots.
In the latest incident, pilots allegedly refused to land planes in bad weather.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has vowed to strip pilots of their licences for refusing to land their planes on schedule, the Beijing News reported.
According to the paper, pilots flying 18 China Eastern Airlines routes refused to land due to bad weather and returned to their point of departure during regional flights in south western China’s Yunnan province on Monday.
Other airlines flew the same routes that day and all landed safely, the paper said.
The “strike action” came after an open letter to the airline calling for better treatment had been circulated among pilots belonging to the Yunnan flight branch of the airline, it said.
It also came after 40 pilots for Shanghai Airlines called in sick at the same time on March 14 and 11 pilots of East Star Air disputed working conditions with their company on March 28 causing long delays out of the central China city of Wuhan, it said.
Chinese press reports have said that domestic pilots are clamouring for better pay after pilot shortages in China have led airlines to hire foreign pilots who are paid much higher salaries.
Ian Jarrett
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