Hong Kong’s current air traffic is only about 16 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with 5,080 passenger flights in August, compared with about 30,000 flights in August 2019.

“Hong Kong needs to drastically increase its flight capacity to fully benefit from the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. It needs to do it quickly or travellers will go elsewhere,” said senior lecturer Andrew Yuen Chi-lok of Chinese University’s Aviation Policy and Research Centre

Cathay Pacific starts Hong Kong recruitment drive as city opens up after Covid-19

The Airport Authority is preparing to give away 500,000 airline tickets worth HK$2 billion (US$254 million) early next year in a global campaign to woo visitors, but Yuen said the city must increase its flight capacity to at least 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by then to meet the anticipated surge in demand.

Before airlines could increase flights, he said, they would have to recall aircraft parked overseas and start hiring quickly after the exodus of pilots and cabin crew who were laid off or resigned during the pandemic.

“Airlines need to rehire experienced pilots and step up retraining of junior pilots. This is very important,” he said, adding that the government could help by speeding up the approval of work visas for foreign pilots.

Cathay Pacific lacks staff to cope with increased Hong Kong demand: Pilots’ union

Hong Kong took a big step in easing its strict pandemic restrictions last month, when it did away with compulsory quarantine and introduced a “0+3” regime under which travellers only had to undergo three days of medical surveillance at home or in a hotel, with limited citywide movement.

The travel industry expected Hongkongers to take advantage of the relaxed rules and start flying in large numbers over the coming months, with improvements in arrival figures too.

Several airlines have already increased flights or announced plans to do so.

Hong Kong to hand out 500,000 plane tickets next year in global travel promotion

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways added about 400 passenger flights in October, mainly to regional destinations such as Osaka, Seoul, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila, and also to long-haul destinations such as Vancouver, Sydney and Melbourne.

With Japan relaxing curbs to allow visa-free travel for individual tourists from October 11, the airline said it would resume daily flights to Haneda airport in downtown Tokyo next month and four weekly trips to Sapporo, in Hokkaido, from December.

British Airways, which has stayed away from Hong Kong skies for more than 12 months, is resuming services to the city in December.

Qatar Airways said it would increase flights to Hong Kong from seven to 11 times a week from January, while aiming for 14 times a week eventually.

Singapore Airlines said it would go from the current two flights a day to three daily services, while subsidiary Scoot Airlines would have daily services from October 30, up from four times a week.

Hong Kong starts allowing local aircrew to skip hotel quarantine overseas

With only 2,500 pilots compared with 4,000 two years ago, Cathay Pacific has said it would need time to rebuild its capacity, although it insisted it had enough qualified and experienced aviation professionals to support its operations.

The airline has begun a massive recruitment drive for more than 4,000 frontline employees, including about 2,000 cabin crew, to meet its needs over the next 18 to 24 months.

It has also restarted a training programme to produce more than 1,000 cadet pilots by 2025.

Singapore Airlines named world’s No 2 carrier. Cathay Pacific tumbles to 16th

Albert Tjoeng, spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, said the surge in demand for air travel was expected and airlines needed time to build up capacity, pointing out that Europe and North America had resumed 85 per cent and 90 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity.

“Airlines will need time to bring back staff and aircraft to support the easing of measures in Hong Kong,” he said.

He added the entire sector, including airports, ground-handling companies and security companies, needed to be prepared and staffed to handle the surge in demand for travel.

Hong Kong travellers rush to book trips after city eases quarantine curbs

For Hong Kong, however, the big question was when its biggest travel market, mainland China, would move from ongoing tight “zero-Covid” restrictions and reopen borders.

Aviation analyst Joanna Lu, head of consultancy Asia at Cirium, said the newly relaxed travel rules and big giveaway of airline tickets were “a sign to the world that Hong Kong is coming back”.

“But most long-haul travellers would probably want to spend some time in mainland China when they travel all the way to Hong Kong,” she said.

Mainland Chinese, who made up the biggest group of visitors to the city before the pandemic, needed to come back too, she added.

Chinese University’s Yuen said: “Hong Kong can only restore its status as an aviation hub as early as 2024, but it will very much depend on when it will reopen its borders with mainland China.”