Air Macau changes program requirements to include all residents

Screenshots of the announcement posted by Air Macau last week and the one captured yesterday (right)

Air Macau has changed the application criteria for the ‘Macau Local Cadet Program’ after the Times reported on Friday that it required candidates to be “Macau permanent ID card holders with Macau SAR passports.” The requirement effectively excluded all residents not of Chinese nationality and was raising questions among residents.
During a press conference on Saturday, Air Macau’s Chief Executive Officer, Chen Hong, said that the candidates must be ‘locals,’ meaning permanent residents. “As long as you are a local permanent resident and meet other requirements, you should be eligible to apply,” he said.
However, the CEO’s explanation contradicts the requirements previously listed by Air Macau. The region’s flagship carrier changed those requirements to “holder of Macau permanent ID with valid passport.”
The program will train between eight and ten young local cadets to be Air Macau pilots. It will reportedly cost the airline around MOP20 million to train the pilots over two and a half years. Applications can be submitted until May 15, and the selection of the candidates will be made between April and June.
Asked last week to comment on the program’s requirements, lawyer Carlos Lobo said that both the Basic Law and the Labor Law prohibit discrimination of residents on grounds of nationality in relation to access to employment. However, there may be exceptions, as long as they are properly justified.
“If the company is able to justify why the candidates need to be Chinese nationals in addition to being Macau residents, perhaps those general principles do not apply,” he said. “Prima facie, and without any information about the reasons for such a requirement, I would say that this is of dubious legality,” the lawyer added. PB