Cathay Pacific announced the shock resignation on Friday of its CEO Rupert Hogg, days after the Hong Kong carrier was censured by Beijing because some staff had supported pro-democracy protests in the city.
In a statement posted on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday, Cathay said Hogg had resigned "to take responsibility as a leader of the company in view of recent events".
He has been replaced by Augustus Tang, a veteran of the Swire Group conglomerate, Cathay's main shareholder.
Over the past week, the airline has emerged as a target on the mainland after some of its 27,000-strong workforce took part in, or voiced support for, the protests. Following this, China's aviation regulator demanded that the airline prevent such staff from working on flights to the mainland or those routed through Chinese airspace.
It also ordered the carrier to hand over identity information for employees on mainland-bound flights—declaring unapproved flights would not be allowed in.
Executives scrambled to reassure authorities that the company has no truck with the demonstrators, vowing to sack any employee who takes part in an "illegal protest".
It has since fired two employees, suspended a pilot linked to the demonstrations and said it will comply with China's regulators.
But the move was not enough to avoid the crosshairs of China's staunchly nationalist Global Times tabloid and the People's Daily—the Communist Party's mouthpiece. Cathay's "sins", the papers said, were that it had not done enough to investigate or condemn staff who took part in protests.
Fired up by the thunderous state media articles, China's heavily censored social media platforms lit up with indignation from people vowing never to fly Cathay again.
On China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, the hashtag #boycottcathaypacificairline had racked up nearly 45 million views by Wednesday. "Blacklist this airline from now on," wrote one user.
A protester blockade of the airport this week deepened the airline's woes, forcing it to cancel 272 flights, and affecting the travel plans of 55,000 people, it said.
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In it he renamed the airline Cathay Pathetic—the opening C turned into a communist hammer and sickle.
Some of those inside the company now say a climate of fear has descended with many worried their own colleagues may be spying on each other's political views.
"It feels like you're being silenced. You can't even express your support on social media," a flight attendant said.
"And many colleagues are actually pointing people out, saying they might send lists to the company about who supports these illegal protests. That makes everyone really afraid," she added.