Typhoon Mangkhut derails travel plans for tens of thousands passing through Hong Kong International Airport
Most flights cancelled for Sunday, affecting 96,000 passengers as city’s transport system braces for extreme weather
Typhoon Mangkhut has derailed the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers travelling to and from Hong Kong International Airport.
The Airport Authority said most flights had been cancelled for Sunday because of the storm but it was unable to provide the total number of flights that would be disrupted.
“With the approach of the super typhoon, it is expected that weather conditions at Hong Kong airport and the surrounding area will start to deteriorate and affect flight operations,” said Steven Yiu Siu-chung, the authority’s deputy director of service delivery.
Mangkhut, named after the Thai word for the mangosteen fruit, was estimated to be about 580 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong at 7pm on Saturday, according to the Observatory.