The gradual lifting of restrictions on Hong Kong In recent months, air traffic to and from China has picked up. It remains modest, of course. The airport's official figures for October show traffic of 755,000 passengers. An increase of 447.9% compared with October 2021. But also only 13% of pre-Covid traffic levels.
Over the last twelve months, Hong Kong recorded 3.3 million passengers. This is less than 5% of the 71.5 million recorded by the former Asian hub in 2019.
Transforming Hong Kong into a hub powerful is what the Cathay group is aiming for...
The gradual lifting of restrictions on Hong Kong In recent months, air traffic to and from China has picked up. It remains modest, of course. The airport's official figures for October show traffic of 755,000 passengers. An increase of 447.9% compared with October 2021. But also only 13% of pre-Covid traffic levels.
Over the last twelve months, Hong Kong recorded 3.3 million passengers. This is less than 5% of the 71.5 million recorded by the former Asian hub in 2019.
Transforming Hong Kong into a hub powerful is the objective being pursued by the Cathay Pacific group - made up of Cathay Pacific and HK Express. The group is committed to restoring capacity and connectivity to its hub. The aim is to meet travel demand in Hong Kong and international markets.
70% of capacity at end 2023
Cathay Pacific and HK Express plan to restore approximately 70% of pre-pandemic passenger capacity by the end of 2023The aim is to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. This Group forecast is more optimistic than that of IATA for Asia-Pacific. Or even Hong Kong airport, which is not predicting a return to the pre-Covid situation until 2025!
With simplification of measures for entering Hong Kong by the HKSAR government, the Group has already announced the addition of around 3,000 passenger flights between October and the end of December this year.
According to Augustus Tang, CEO, " the group is well on the way to achieving its target ofto operate up to a third of its pre-pandemic passenger capacity by the end of 2022. This represents a doubling of capacity compared to last August and represents approximately eight times the average capacity operated by the company in the first half of 2022" .
Cathay is therefore committed to rebuilding its network at a time when many countries now consider Covid-19 infections to be endemic. However, the carrier is facing a considerable delay in resuming operations. This is due to the almost total isolation imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing for two years.
" We are taking a measured and responsible approach to managing the recovery of our business, with the need to address the challenges that are unique to Hong Kong. The closure of the city's borders has lasted much longer than in other markets. Above all, Hong Kong flight crews were subject to quarantine constraints that were only lifted in September." Cathay's CEO acknowledges.
Cathay sees a future for the Hong Kong hub
Augustus Tang says that if the company has enough staff to manage the resumption of traffic, short-term bottlenecks remain with the need to re-certify pilots who had not been flying regularly for a long time and to reactivate aircraft.
The Chinese government has reaffirmed the importance of Hong Kong as an air transport hub. as part of the 14th Five-Year Development Plan. The completion of the third runway at the airport, scheduled for 2024, will ensure the long-term future of the Hong Kong hub..
The Cathay Pacific group is thus expressing its confidence in the long-term prospects for aviation in Hong Kong. While stressing that the total removal of all travel constraints remained essential to a recovery of aviation activity.
