(Reuters) – Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific airline said on Friday it expects to reach a third of pre-pandemic passenger capacity by the end of the year, up from a previous estimate of a quarter after quarantine rules on crew were lifted. .
Hong Kong announced last week that it would end strict rules requiring crew members on passenger flights to quarantine in a hotel for three days upon return to the city.
In August, the airline’s passenger capacity was just 16% of the same month in 2019 before the pandemic, meaning it expects that to double by the end of the year.
โWhile we will continue to add more flights as quickly as possible to strengthen the network connectivity of the Hong Kong hub, this will continue as we build operational readiness and do a significant amount of training and aircraft reactivation,โ Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said in a statement. .
He added that shipments, which contributed the bulk of the airline’s revenue during the pandemic, saw steady demand in the summer months ahead of the peak year-end season.
Cathay ran 59% of pre-pandemic cargo capacity in August and expects to reach about two-thirds of 2019 levels by the end of the year.
Earlier this month, the airline warned that this year’s peak cargo season could be weaker than last year due to inflation and China’s COVID-free policies.
