Cathay pilots drop their lawsuit
 

Associated Press

Cathay Pacific Pilots Agree to Drop Suit
05.29.2005, 02:36 AM

Many of the 51 Cathay Pacific pilots fired in 2001 who were suing the airline have agreed to drop their legal action in exchange for payments, the airline said Sunday.

The pilots were sacked in July 2001 after cockpit crews protested over wages and scheduling, costing Cathay millions of dollars.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. spokeswoman Carolyn Leung declined to say exactly how many accepted the management's offer of 10 months' severance pay and the chance to reapply for jobs with the carrier.

However, the South China Morning Post reported Sunday that 19 pilots rejected the offer.

The main Cathay pilots union voted to stop funding the lawsuits in Australia, Britain and Hong Kong earlier this year, but the Post reported that some pilots were forming a new union to keep funding the cases.

Calls to the main pilots' union, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, went unanswered Sunday.