The move, in
response to the spread of the omicron variant, particular hurts Cathay Pacific,
with most of the airline’s long-haul routes through Hong Kong.
The airline
posted on its website:
“In response to the ongoing impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong and around the world, the Hong Kong Airport
Authority has announced continued restrictions on the use of Hong Kong
International Airport as a transit point.
Until 11:59pm on 20 April 2022, transfer and transit services at Hong
Kong International Airport will continue to be limited to passengers coming
from non-high risk places.
Passengers on Cathay Pacific flights arriving from cities in the Chinese
Mainland and Taiwan region may continue to connect to onward flights.
Passengers starting their journey with Cathay Pacific from any other
destination will not be able to use Hong Kong as a transit point during this
period.
We are contacting affected passengers via email with a range of options
– including rebooking to a future date, obtaining a Cathay Credit or requesting
a full refund.”
The new ban
is an extension of a previous two-month ban imposed on January 1, 2022, that
had been set to expire on March 15.
Cathay
Pacific passenger traffic in February 2022 continued to be hampered by travel
restrictions and quarantine requirements in Hong Kong as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline
carried a total of 31,253 passengers in February 2022, an increase of 48%
compared to the same month in 2021, but a decrease of 98.9% compared to
pre-pandemic levels in February 2019. The majority of passenger flights were
conducted to and from the Chinese Mainland and Australia.
“Travel and
operational restrictions in place in Hong Kong continued to constrain our
ability to operate more passenger flight capacity in February and we operated
below 2% of pre-COVID-19 levels, a reduction of about 28% compared with January
2022,” Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam announced in a
statement dated March 14, 2022.
Looking
ahead to March 2022, Cathay Pacific expects passenger traffic to come from the
Chinese Mainland. However, the airline does not foresee significant signs
of recovery in passenger travel demand.
Passenger
traffic results came just days after the airline released its earnings report
for 2021. The carrier reduced its annual losses in 2021 but warned that
tighter quarantine restrictions will further hamper passenger operations in
2022.
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