London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Hong Kong’s Cathay axes passenger, cargo flights in latest contingency bid

Hong Kong’s Cathay axes passenger, cargo flights in latest contingency bid

Airline’s move comes as tighter government measures for aircrew quarantine loom.

Cathay Pacific has been forced into contingency mode, cancelling almost half of planned passenger flights and a third of cargo ones on Thursday, a move that may cause more fissures in an already stressed global supply chain.

According to live flight schedule data from Hong Kong’s Airport Authority, the city’s flag carrier axed 28 of 61 planned departing passenger flights amid uncertainty over even tighter Covid-19 regulations for aircrew.

The live departure flight page for Hong Kong International Airport, the world’s busiest international air cargo hub, showed Cathay had pulled flights to destinations that included Australia, Britain and Japan, with aircrew expected to face tougher quarantine measures.

Cathay staff at the airport. The airline has come under increasing pressure from changing travel rules amid the pandemic.


Of 15 cargo-only flights, five, including to Japan, mainland China and India, were scrapped, with one further delayed by 24 hours. No cargo flights were cancelled on Wednesday, and none have been dropped for Friday.

More passenger flights have been cancelled for Friday, however. As of 7pm on Thursday, the airline had dropped seven flights for the next day, including six long-haul trips initially set for departure between midnight and 1.30am.

Compared with Wednesday, the airline only cancelled seven passenger flights.

The perceived threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which scientists fear may be more transmissible than the current dominant strain, has prompted the Hong Kong government to toughen already strict arrival rules. Authorities bumped up more than a dozen countries to the Group A high-risk category, meaning the maximum 21 days of quarantine for travellers, and 14 for aircrew.

On Thursday, Cathay flight operations director Chris Kempis told staff: “We are still waiting for a response from the Hong Kong government that confirms the status of our crew exemptions following the new quarantine classifications for several countries, which have now become effective.”

He warned the effects of the rule changes “are significant and far more challenging to manage as they are constantly changing and are now linked to every individual crew member’s movements”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×