As Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, approached Hong Kong this week, mass flight cancellations and lost revenue were not the only headache for airlines based at one of the world's busiest airports.
Ahead of the arrival of hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday, about 80% of the aircraft belonging to the four main airlines based in the city had been relocated to or grounded at airports in Japan, China, Cambodia, Europe, Australia and other locations, Flightradar24 tracking data showed.
All landings and departures at Hong Kong, the world's busiest cargo airport and the ninth busiest for international passenger traffic, were cancelled for 36 hours starting on Tuesday evening.
Hong Kong's largest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, said on Monday the typhoon was going to have "a significant impact" on its operations and it would cancel more than 500 long-haul and regional flights.
"We are positioning some of our aircraft away from Hong Kong and expect a staggered and gradual resumption to our schedule throughout Thursday into Friday," said the airline, which has a fleet of 179 passenger and freighter planes.
Hong Kong issued typhoon signal 10, its highest warning, early on Wednesday, which urges businesses and transport services to shut down.
It is standard industry practice for airlines to move aircraft abroad during major weather events or as conflict risk rises to avoid potential damage, often to comply with insurance obligations.
At least 14 Cathay Pacific jets flew from Hong Kong to Cambodia's Phnom Penh Techo airport on Tuesday to wait out the storm, according to tracking data and Techo airport.
Airlines can also preemptively send aircraft away from their main base so they are ready to operate return flights when a storm subsides.
In high winds, airlines can store aircraft in hangars, or add extra fuel to weigh them down. Smaller aircraft can be tied down.
Hong Kong-based Greater Bay Airlines, a small carrier with seven aircraft, said it had parked all its planes away from Hong Kong as a safety precaution.
Its Boeing 737s flew to airports in Japan and China on Tuesday, tracking data shows.
Hong Kong Airlines similarly appeared to have kept all but one of its 28 aircraft out of Hong Kong.
Cathay and its low-cost subsidiary HK Express kept more of their planes in Hong Kong, tracking data showed.
Cathay and HK Express did not respond to requests for comment about how they were storing their planes. In a 2017 internal publication, Cathay said it had stored some of its planes in hangars at Hong Kong airport during past cyclones, while others had been sent to other destinations.
Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $...
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled o...
Kyrgyzstan recorded the largest increase in women’s representation in parliament worldwide in 2025, accordin...
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washin...
Türkiye’s official anti-disinformation agency has issued a statement refuting what it described as onli...
Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $119 a barrel, as conflict in the Middle East rumbled on. Meanwhile, the Turkish Military said NATO air defence systems destroyed a missile fired from Iran towards the country.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Iranian civilian and military officials have pledged their obedience to the new leader, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying his leadership “will herald a new era of dignity and authority for the Iranian nation.”.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
Emirates and Etihad Airways were resuming limited flight schedules to key global cities from their United Arab Emirates hubs on Friday (6 March), though the ongoing threat of missile fire piled pressure on airlines.
Air fares between Asia and Europe have surged after major Gulf hubs, including Dubai, partially reopened following closures linked to the conflict between Israel, the U.S. and Iran. Airlines are still rerouting flights around restricted airspace, cutting economy seat supply and pushing up prices.
Global air travel remained in turmoil on Monday after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory strikes in the Gulf region prompted widespread airspace closures across the Middle East, disrupting one of the world’s most important aviation corridors.
Chinese travellers made an estimated 362.58 million cross-regional passenger trips on Monday, the final day of the Spring Festival holiday, according to official data.
A powerful winter storm has brought large parts of the U.S. Northeast to a standstill, dumping more than 30 cms (a foot) of snow across several states and severely disrupting transport and daily life.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment