Hong Kong tightens Covid grip on struggling Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong tightens Covid grip on struggling Cathay Pacific

Globally, airlines have had a very tough two years, but what Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific - once a major global airline player connecting the world via its flagship Hong Kong hub - has endured (and continues to endure) is nothing short of unbelievable.

Cathay Pacific has been operating with passenger capacity at 93% below pre-pandemic levels as a result of Hong Kong’s strict zero-Covid-19 policy. Routes have been cut, pilots face weeks in state quarantine, and the airline is regularly slammed for “importing a positive case of the virus” when an arriving passenger goes on to test positive in state quarantine.

If an arriving passenger tests positive in state quarantine having flown in on a foreign airline, the Hong Kong authorities slap a temporary ban on the airline, prohibiting operations to Hong Kong citing the “imported case.” These airline specific bans are currently affecting Finnair, Turkish Airlines, Cebu Pacific, among others. Other airlines, including Emirates, KLM, Qatar Airways, British Airways and Nepal Airlines have been on the receiving end of Hong Kong’s bans multiple times throughout the pandemic.

Multiple airlines have begun avoiding Hong Kong and pulling out pilots and crew from the city. British Airways has had to suspend all