Covid: Cathay Pacific flights cut after Hong Kong clampdown

LONDON (BBC): Cathay Pacific has announced immediate major cuts to its flight schedule, including cancelling passenger and cargo services to and from Hong Kong. The airline did not provide details on how many flights would be grounded but it said it would operate a skeleton passenger schedule in January.
It comes after Hong Kong announced tighter Covid-19 quarantine rules for air cargo crew earlier this week.
The move was aimed at tackling the threat of the Omicron Covid variant.
Cathay pilots have previously told the BBC the restrictions have affected their mental health and personal lives.
Late on Thursday Cathay Pacific said it was tentatively planning to cancel some passenger flights in and out of the Asian financial hub in the first three months of the new year. It also said that long haul freight and cargo-only passenger flights including from Europe, Riyadh and Dubai would be suspended until 6 January.
Cathay Pacific had already announced last week that it would cancel some flights in January.
The latest decision is likely to put further strain on the already struggling global supply chain.