Pilots Claim Safety Concerns Led to Their Dismissal by Hong Kong Airline.

SAFETY and security may be a top priority in the travel industry right now, but nine former Cathay Pacific Airways pilots are saying it certainly wasn't the case a few months ago.

In a $100 million lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the nine pilots claim they were fired six days after they brought up safety issues with the Hong Kong airline. The lawsuit is part of a series of suits worldwide claiming 49 captains and first officers were fired July 9 after their member pilot association, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, sent out a letter that addressed safety and security requirements in the company manual.

Mary Jersin, spokeswoman for Cathay Padific, said the airline is aware of the lawsuit but declined comment.

The nine pilots in L.A. were assigned to flights to and from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

The pilots were especially concerned about reduced job qualifications and training for pilots and a reduced time period between flights that causes fatigue and exhaustion. But the concerns also included security breaches with baggage checking in Canada, the lawsuit said.

"They cut back on crews, cut back on training, all for financial considerations," said Skip Miller, a partner at Christensen Miller Fink Jacobs Glaser Weil & Shapiro LLP, who is representing the nine pilots in L.A.

Cathay Pacific has yet to be served with the lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 3.