Adlerdriver

Details from the company and our union are being parsed. Not cool.

If you work or DH into HKG, you will be tested. If you are found positive, you will go to a local hospital for treatment. We know that. What you may not have been told is that if you are on a crew, operating or jumpseating with a positive case, even though you're NOT positive, you will be quarantined in a HKG government facility. You will share a room with up to 5 strangers, sleep on a 2" mat with access to a hot pot and limited support beyond that. We already have at least one non-HKG based pilot experiencing this.

It's also possible that you can find yourself in the same quarantine facility if social contact with a positive is traced back to you while you're still in HKG. If you go out to socialize and gather in a group wherever you happen to be on a layover, come in contact with a positive and are then in HKG when that is discovered, you will be quarantined.

Use this information as you see fit. IMO, 777 and MD-11 operators need to give some serious thought to accepting a trip that transits HKG at the moment. We all need to consider the ramifications of the normal social gatherings we still seek in some form or another on our layovers. International 777 and 767 crews also need to consider the risk they're accepting by letting the company pack their aircraft full of operational jumpseaters who are unable to social distance and may increase the possibility of an exposure event. Fair warning.

wrxpilot

Are you sure this is the situation? We recently had a non-pilot friend in the government quarantine, and they had their own room. Basically everything you just wrote does not match his experience.

If what you did write is true, that's clearly a big problem. But again, it doesn't match what I've heard of according to first hand info.

Huck

Several articles online describing life in the camps.

Nightflyer

If the OP's information is correct, the union and the company must work together to put a stop to this.

There is no way I am spending time in a room with 5 strangers and a hot pot.

If this is true, we need to be able to refuse Hong Kong layovers.

If this is true, the company needs to start operating Hong Kong as out and backs.

I do not know if the information is correct or not. I would never insult this OP's integrity, so I will assume it is correct.

If we can document this actually happening to a FedEx crew member, the union needs to take action immediately.

This is chilling, and completely UNSAT. It goes a long way to explain the other airlines refusal to fly to Hong Kong.

Newbie

The OP post is mostly correct. The quarantine camps depending on which location you go to have over 2,000 people in them. For what I was told by first hand knowledge, some are on 32nd floor of concrete building, non potable water, no AC, a fan, concrete flooring and yes an old school style metal spring bed with 2” mattress. You’re confined to room, they bring meals to you three times a day. You must boil water to drink. You are by yourself at the moment.

You get sent to hospital if you pop positive for Covid. You are sent to a government ran hospital, several located through HK, and you’re put in rooms with other Covid Chinese patients. I have heard from rooms of three up to rooms of six. You share one bathroom and your distance between patients if full, is arms distance reach from each other with some on their death beds. Apparently we have had one pilot already released from hospital and we have several others waiting to be released. Time frame of first guy getting released 12-13 days in hospital. Unknown about quarantine camps. To confirm union letter comments, I have heard that they have asked FDX Pilots to take experimental drugs for COVID. Be careful out there and I would not come to HKG even if tested negative for COVID. You could be as the SCP wrote, “Collateral Damage”. At the moment, FDX, for what I have been told, has done nothing to get these guys and gals out. Fly safe and stay strong as a crew force!

busdriver12

So if you’ve just been in contact with someone who tested positive, but you haven’t even tested positive, you could be put in a room for two weeks with five people who might have Covid? I guess they are trying to make sure you get it?

Rock

Based on the official ALPA email I received this morning, everything Adlerdriver said is true, and then some. Not good at all.

max8222

Company needs to fix this situation and fast. Otherwise we should refuse to fly into HKG. This is totally unacceptable and worse than the situation we faced in CAN in April when they had to shutdown ops for a few days.

Nightflyer

The first crew member was put in quarantine on July 10, according to the Fastread.

It sure would have been good to know about this situation when bidding for August lines, but the union didn't say a peep until the post on APC forced them to address it. Totally unsat.

Rock

I know it’s the Captain’s prerogative to accept or deny jumpseaters, but speaking for myself, if the company were to assign me to a company jumpseat into HKG, I would be extremely grateful if the Captain denied me access.