Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways posts loss of nearly HK$5 billion for first half of 2022, as firm warns city is ‘far behind’ other aviation hubs
- Smaller loss compared with last year attributed to rebound in passenger flights
- Cathay chairman Patrick Healy calls city’s strict travel restrictions on aircrews ‘single biggest impediment’ to company’s plans to operate more flights
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has announced a loss of HK$4.99 billion (US$636.8 million) for the first half of 2022, 33.9 per cent down from the same period last year amid a strong rebound in passenger flights.
The figure, which is smaller than the HK$7.56 billion loss recorded in the first six months of 2021, was released as the city’s flagship carrier on Wednesday warned that Hong Kong had fallen “far behind” other international aviation hubs.
Cathay chairman Patrick Healy said the city’s strict anti-epidemic travel measures for aircrews were the “single biggest impediment” to the company’s plans to operate more flights.
Even if the government opted to remove all Covid-related travel restrictions, Healy said, it would take “several months” to increase flight capacity, citing a crew retraining backlog that could not be addressed until quarantine rules were lifted.
He also called on the government to issue a “clear road map” on when all travel restrictions would be removed so the airline could plan ahead.
Currently, Hong Kong-based aircrews for passenger flights are required to quarantine for three nights at a designated hotel upon arriving in the city. Locally-based cargo crews are exempt from the measure.