More than 1,500 flights to and from Hong Kong were affected on Thursday and Friday with more than 50 cancellations. Photo: Sam Tsang

Typhoons whip up Hong Kong travel chaos as more than 1,500 flights affected

Travellers flying in and out of Hong Kong are yet to escape the mercy of the weather despite the low impact of Typhoon Linfa as another tropical storm churned across the region.

Danny Lee

Published: 12:15pm, 10 Jul 2015

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Travellers flying in and out of Hong Kong are yet to escape the mercy of the weather despite the low impact of Typhoon Linfa as another tropical storm churned across the region today.

Super Typhoon Chan-hom whipped up 155km/h winds as it barrelled across eastern China towards Wenzhou, affecting dozens of flights and causing cancellations between Hong Kong and major destinations Shanghai, Taipei and Beijing.

According to the Airport Authority, more than 1,500 flights have been affected since yesterday, including 50 scheduled departures and arrivals that were axed today.

“Affected by typhoons yesterday and today, the Airport Authority continued flight rescheduling control, from 6am to midnight [on Friday], involving 1,020 flights to and from Hong Kong,” an Airport Authority spokesman said.

However, while airlines and the airport braced for significant Typhoon Linfa disruption yesterday, the impact was barely felt. Some 520 flights to and from Hong Kong were rescheduled in anticipation, but the storm passed over the city with a whimper, leaving it unscathed.

Facing a storm of questions, the Hong Kong Observatory defended its handling of the typhoon, insisting its decision to issue the typhoon No. 8 signal – which triggers a partial city shutdown – was based on meteorological data and consideration for public safety.

Cathay Pacific said on Friday that flights CX463, CX465, CX5487 and CX405 from Taipei and CX5433 from Kaohsiung were cancelled.

Dragonair said the following flights were cancelled: KA486, KA5494, KA5450 and KA5466 from Hong Kong to Taipei; KA5465, KA487, KA5495, KA5463 and KA5405 from Taipei.

Also cancelled were KA5390 and KA908 to Beijing; KA5347, KA5391 and KA909 from Beijing; KA432 to Kaohsiung and KA433 from Kaohsiung; KA626 to Hangzhou and KA627 from Hangzhou; plus KA804 to Shanghai and KA805 from Shanghai.

Meanwhile, KA378 to Okinawa and KA379 from Okinawa were delayed.

Hong Kong Airlines said it proactively cancelled a handful of flights to and from Shanghai, Bangkok, Hangzhou and Fuzhou, including: HX236 to Shanghai, HX237 from Shanghai; HX774 and HX762 from Bangkok; HX129 from Hangzhou; and HX174 from Fuzhou.

Direct ferry services linking Hong Kong airport with Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou had resumed operations, according to the airport spokesman.

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