Aviation authorities report ‘less than 5%’ flight cuts despite Mideast war

The figures were shared in Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan’s response to a lawmaker’s question, with the minister also revealing the Airport Authority planned to review charges to ease the financial burden on the aviation industry.

The Civil Aviation Department figures showed that less than 5 per cent of flights for May and June had been cancelled, and about 1 per cent were cut for July, she said.

But she noted that the number of flights in April rose by 5 per cent and passenger throughput for that month increased by 8 per cent year on year.

Chan said local carriers had mitigated flight cuts by redirecting capacity to underserved markets. For example, one airline added three return flights to Paris and another three to Zurich, while increasing seat capacity on its 13 existing return services to London in April.

Addressing another question from lawmaker Gary Chan Hak-kan about easing the industry’s financial burden, she said the Airport Authority, which operates Hong Kong International Airport, had “long set airport charges according to commercial principles” and would “continue to closely monitor market conditions and review charge levels as appropriate”.

Fuel price indices across the Asia-Pacific have more than doubled since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with the conflict’s escalation forcing airlines worldwide to trim their schedules.