(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-05 21:25

SHANGHAI -- China Eastern Airlines (CEA) announced on Saturday that pilots involved in "flight returns" would be penalized if they were found to have acted on grievances rather than "poor weather."

On Monday, 18 flights returned to their departure points in the southwestern Yunnan Province, affecting more than 1,000 passengers.

Media reports have said that the pilots, who work for CEA subsidiary Yunnan Airlines, were protesting their pay and working conditions. The company had insisted that poor weather was involved.

According to Saturday's announcement, the Shanghai-based headquarters of CEA was told that the weather did not permit landings on Monday. On the basis of that information, the company told the media that weather was the cause of the disruptions.

"We are concerned about public suspicions [that weather was not the real cause] and an investigation is under way," the announcement said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has sent a team to investigate. A CAAC spokesman said that the agency would ask the proper authorities to impose severe penalties on the pilots if they disrupted flights on purpose or otherwise acted counter to professional ethics.

The Yunnan branch of CEA promised compensation to affected passengers that would reflect the fares paid.

This week, media reports said a pilot strike loomed large in China as 40 Shanghai Airlines pilots had called in sick on March 14. At the new Wuhan East Star Airline, 11 pilots asked for sick leave on March 28.

China has 12,000 civilian pilots. But official figures predict that the total number of flights would increase 80 percent by 2010 and 6,500 more pilots would be required.

It generally costs a Chinese airline about 700,000 yuan (about US$100,000) to 1.8 million yuan to train a pilot.