Covid: Cathay Pacific flights have been suspended after the Hong Kong closure
Written byTimes Magazine
Cathay Pacific soon announced significant reductions to its flights, including canceling passenger and cargo services to and from Hong Kong. The airline did not provide information on how many flights it would suspend but said it would run a rough flight schedule for passengers in January.
It comes after Hong Kong announced stricter Covid-19 quarantine rules for air cargo crew earlier this week.
The move is aimed at combating the threat posed by the Omicron-Covid variant.
Cathay pilots previously told the BBC that the restrictions had affected their mental health and personal lives.
Late Thursday, Cathay Pacific announced that it would cancel several passenger flights to and from the Asian financial hub during the first three months of the new year.
It also said that long-haul passenger flights, including all-cargo flights, from Europe, Riyadh, and Dubai, among others, would be suspended until January 6.
The latest decision will likely put an already complex global supply chain under additional pressure. Like the rest of the worldwide aviation industry, the pandemic has hit Cathay hard. It recorded a net loss of $2.8 billion ($2 billion) in 2020 and $972 million in the first half of 2021.
During the Christmas season alone, airlines worldwide canceled thousands of flights due to the coronavirus. In line with mainland China, Hong Kong pursues a zero-covid policy to persuade Beijing to allow cross-border travel.
As a end, the city has some of the strictest quarantine rules in the world, leading to concerns that it could be abandoned if other major financial hubs open if they take the approach they are taking with the coronavirus rather than staying closed to help them keep the number of cases low.
Hong Kong is one of the world's big aviation hubs, but it also has some of the strictest coronavirus regulations globally. Two Cathay Pacific pilots recently told the that the rules had seriously affected their mental health and put a strain on their personal lives.
"You're just in constant quarantine," said one pilot who has spent nearly 150 days in isolation this year alone.
Although Hong Kong has reported almost no local coronavirus cases in recent months, the city has implemented extensive testing and quarantine regime in line with mainland China's zero-covid policy.
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