Hong Kong protests: Cathay Pacific steps up safety checks on all flights

High profile company Cathay Pacific has come under pressure during the Hong Kong protests. Photo / AP

Cathay Pacific has stepped up checks of safety equipment in flight and after landing, after oxygen bottles were found empty on three flights, leading to the suspension of crew.

The airline flies daily between New Zealand and Hong Kong and has found itself caught in the middle of protests in the territory with some pilots sacked, one for joining a demonstration, and top-level resignations.

Although the airline is not linking the emptying of oxygen bottles to the civil unrest, there is speculation it could be a form of low-level protest to cause disruption by any of a number of workers who have access to aircraft on the ground or in the air.

The bottles are not part of the main emergency oxygen system for aircraft but are used in case individual passengers and crew need it for medical events.

In a statement to the Herald, the airline group said crew on the flights - two Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 flights (from Toronto to Hong Kong) and one Cathay Dragon flight (from Bali to Hong Kong), had been suspended. Dozens of crew would be grounded.

Some portable oxygen bottles stored on board the operating aircraft were found to be fully discharged or partially discharged.

The airline says it has reported the incidents that happened in the middle of last month to the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and the police.

''We always conduct pre-flight inspections before all our flights. Recently, we have further strengthened our security measures to now also include in-flight and post-landing checks for every flight to ensure all emergency equipment is serviceable and that the safety of our crew and passengers is upheld at all times,'' said a spokesperson.

Cathay Pacific had come under pressure from Beijing after not initially taking action against staff who were involved in pro-democracy protests. The mainland Civil Aviation Authority threatened the airline to prevent it from using Chinese airspace.

Just over a fortnight ago chief executive Rupert Hogg and chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo quit in a sign Chinese authorities were exerting more pressure.

Hogg had led the airline for more than two years.

''These have been challenging weeks for the airline and it is right that Paul and I take responsibility as leaders of the company,'' Hogg told reporters.

Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg resigned in mid-August. Photo / AP

Cathay Pacific is gearing up for a big summer in New Zealand, in spite of scaling back some of its office functions in this country.

This October it will be the first airline to bring the Airbus A350-1000 to New Zealand. That plane will begin flying three times weekly to and from Auckland, before switching to twice daily flights from December to February during the high season.

Its seasonal service to Christchurch, launched in 2018, will resume later this year. There will be more flights – four per week between December 2019 and February 2020, compared with the previous three per week – while the first flights will begin in mid-November, two weeks earlier than last year.

It has also just extended its joint venture alliance with Air New Zealand for another five years.