Exclusive | Cathay Pacific junior pilot suspended after failing alcohol test before flight to Hong Kong

Sources said on Wednesday that some crew members of flight CX110 underwent an alcohol breath test in Sydney at the request of Australian authorities and a second official failed the breath test, leading to the immediate suspension and the flight delay.

The airline sent another second officer as a replacement. An insider added that Cathay Pacific also sent an additional captain on the replacement flight.

“The company’s limit is 0.02 percent blood alcohol content. Since the original second officer has been suspended from duty, Cathay has to arrange another second officer as a replacement, resulting in a lengthy delay,” the source said.

“We all know the 10-hour bottle-to-throttle rule. You can’t drink anything for 10 hours before reporting for flight duty,” the insider said. “Most of us follow that rule.”

The insider said the Airbus A350-941 was scheduled to depart at 7:35am Sydney time on Tuesday and arrive in Hong Kong at 3:05pm, but the flight was delayed for at least two days after the second pilot failed the test.

The flight is now scheduled to depart Sydney at 10:35am Australian time on Thursday and arrive in Hong Kong at 5:27pm.

The source said the airline was upset about the incident, which resulted in financial losses, and was possibly considering dismissing the second officer involved.

According to Cathay’s operating manual, which The Post has seen, a positive breath test for employees in safety-critical functions is defined as a value greater than or equal to 9 micrograms per 100 ml of breath.

The regulation is stricter than the alcohol limit in Hong Kong, which is 22 micrograms/100 milliliters of breath, which corresponds to a blood alcohol content of 0.05 percent.

The manual states that crew members should not report for duty under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, nor should they drink alcohol within 10 hours of starting their shift.

The Post has contacted Cathay for comment.