SHANGHAI – China Eastern Airlines has suspended or demoted 13 of its pilots for flying their planes without landing at their destinations between March 31 and April 1. The suspensions last up to two years.
China Daily reports the pilots flew back 21 planes to the airports they had taken off from in Yunnan province instead of landing at their destinations on the pretext of bad weather or technical problems.
This left more than 1,000 passengers stranded in Yunnan’s airports, mostly in the provincial capital of Kunming.
But an investigation by the country’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), shows only three of the flights had been forced to fly back because of poor weather or aircraft failure.
The other pilots were suspected of flying their planes back to protest against their poor pay and working conditions.
The CAAC has fined China Eastern, the country’s third largest airline, US$217,400.
It has stopped it from operating flights on the routes from Kunming to Xishuangbanna and Dali, two popular tourist destinations in Yunnan, from May.
Reports estimate the penalties may cost the carrier US$58.6 million in revenue this year.
