Lot of CX cancellations in December
 

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...gtype=homepage

CX might provide more details, but my reading of the article is:

1. CX will consolidate December flights to/from Hong Kong: “We are consolidating our passenger flight schedules for December 2021, including cancelling a number of flights to Hong Kong.” They had an ambitious program for the holiday season.

2. Of the remaining flights, one third will not take pax to HKG (only HKG outbound).

I wonder what will be the protocol for those flights without inbound pax service. Is the outgoing aircrew going to remain in the plane resting for the return service? And therefore avoid quarantine upon arrival.

My understanding is that different quarantine rules/ exemptions apply to cargo pilots, so this could reduce the number of CX pilots stuck in quarantine and unable to fly.

Then again, the rules seem to be changing quite often - so come December who knows what the actual situation would be?

This has gotten well beyond any reasonable definition of a joke

I believe that as the passengers departing HK are considered uninfected, the pilots upon arrival at the outport still go to their hotel to rest and are not allowed to leave their room. And then they fly a plane back without passengers but with cargo, and this allows them to arrive in HK without needing to do hotel quarantine.

But what about the FAs flying outbound??

I saw a YouTube video by CX cabin crew few months back. The FA will return immediately via the same plane. And no need quarantine upon arrival.

Unless they fly back on an empty plane, the FAs will be sitting in the same/adjacent cabins to passengers subject to quarantine in Hong Kong and therefore must quarantine as well?

The decision is that the plane flying back is cargo only, so they won't be passengers and returning FAs will have the whole plane by themselves.
If the outbound pax all originated in HK, I would expect them to be assumed covid-free, so no reason for FAs quarantine on the way back. But there are transit pax on these HKG-AAA flights. It used to be that they did not even need to have a PCR test, unless required at destination (some do not if they are vaccinated).
Would not that be sufficient to induce quarantine on the way back?

Apparently China is requesting a more restrictive quarantine system for air crew.
That could mean more cancellations:
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...gtype=homepage

Yup, victim here. CX288 got cancelled with 2 weeks of notice. It seems they are consolidating European flights to London. Makes business sense but not for me, now that I have to transfer twice as my final destination is not HKG...

Government announcement tomorrow: no more transits

We'll start looking like Australia nine months ago with arrivals quota.

Is this true or are you speculating?

yes. The return flight is empty. All the FA sitting in the J cabin in their own clothes.

if there is passengers, the FA will layover

but still transit pax can infect crew. Transit pax will face the axe soon, just like HKG and SIN don’t run unvaxxed flights to/from Aus

If true, CX will no longer be an option for me in the near future :(

Of course, that is pure speculation.

But, it is clear that transit pax on the outbound create a loophole, as we both pointed out. FAs will be in contact with potentially-infected pax.
Many destinations, e.g. France and many EU countries, do not even require PCR tests for vaccinated pax.
I assume that cleaning staff will not be allowed onboard at the turning point Hence, FAs on the return (inbound flight) might be sitting in a seat previously occupied by an infected person.