By Jamie Freed

(Reuters) – More than a third of all airline pilots remain unflying as the pandemic continues its impact on global aviation. However, the survey shows that the situation is improving from a year ago when most were grounded.

A survey of over 1700 pilots conducted by UK-based GOOSE recruitment and the industry publication FlightGlobal on Wednesday found that 62% were currently employed, up from 43% a previous year.

As air traffic rebounded from its 2020 lows, the proportion of pilots who are unemployed fell to 30% to 20%. 6%, however, were furloughed.

In Asia-Pacific, which was hit the hardest by international travel restrictions and a decline in international travel, the percentage of unemployed increased from 23% up to 25%. At 53%, the region had the lowest percentage of people who were flying.

The survey found that “we have seen expatriates returning home from the area due to fears over quarantine, or being trapped for long periods without contact with friends,” according to their report.

Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong (OTC), an important expatriate employer, lost hundreds of pilots to the closure of the Cathay Dragon regional branch and nearly all of its overseas bases during pandemic.

Pilot attrition at Cathay has also been rising amid strict layover rules that leave crew members locked https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/locked-hotels-hong-kongs-covid-19-rules-take-mental-toll-cathay-pilots-2021-11-26 in hotels when they are not flying.

Six out of ten pilots who still fly globally indicated that they are concerned about their jobs security.

Unnamed pilot flying in Africa and the Middle East said that only Northern America has returned to post-COVID passenger counts. “The rest, particularly developing nations, continue to struggle to obtain vaccines. They are not able travel.”