Fix as quickly as possible: John Lee’s message to Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific amid 3 days of extensive flight cuts

Chief Executive John Lee vows to work with industry to rebuild capacity ‘as quickly as possible’, with Cathay management to meet officials over government goals

Airline has cut flights, well above expected average number, for three consecutive days after announcing plan to ensure normal operations for Lunar New Year holiday

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Cathay Pacific planes in Hong Kong. The carrier cancelled at least 21 flights on Tuesday, almost double the average of 12 a day it had a pledged. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 12:34pm, 9 Jan 2024Updated: 12:21am, 10 Jan 2024

Hong Kong’s leader has told flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways to resolve its flight capacity problems swiftly, saying he is “very concerned” about the airline’s three consecutive days of extensive service cancellations.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday also said his administration would work with the industry, in particular Cathay Pacific, to ensure flight capacity was rebuilt “as quickly as possible” to maintain the city’s aviation hub status.

“As regards to Cathay Pacific cancelling flights over a short period of time, causing inconvenience and also loss to some passengers, we are very concerned,” Lee said before his weekly meeting with top advisers from the Executive Council.

Cathay cancelled 19 flights on Sunday as it announced plans to cut services to ensure normal operations for the Lunar New Year holiday period, and dropped another 21 on Monday.

A check by the Post of Tuesday’s flights found a further 21 cancellations, again almost double the average of 12 flights the carrier said it would cut every day until the end of February.

Lee acknowledged that the pandemic had heavily affected flight capacity, and efforts had been made to address the issue, but urged the airline to overcome its challenges “very quickly and very effectively”.

“I understand this capacity constraint exists in many cities similar to Hong Kong,” he said. “But in this competitive world, I want our aviation industry to rebuild its capacity fast and completely so that we will be competitive as a whole.

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