Cathay Pacific to return to pre-pandemic capacity only by end of 2024

Cathay Pacific does not expect to return to pre-pandemic levels of travel until the end of 2024, after abandoning compulsory quarantine for all international arrivals just in September.

Hong Kong’s imposition of one of the world's strictest travel curbs during the coronavirus pandemic hammered travel-reliant businesses, including its flagship carrier.

According to Cathay Pacific CEO Augustus Tang, who will be replaced by fellow veteran Cathay executive Ronald Lam on January 1, they are on track to achieving its target of operating one-third of its pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity levels by the end of 2022".

Achieving the target would represent a doubling of capacity since August.

The airline hopes to be operating at around 70 percent by 2023’s end.

While the number of flights to Hong Kong has increased after the government ended compulsory quarantine the airport is still far behind its rivals.

Hong Kong's airport handled 755,000 passengers in October, around 13 percent of what it used to process before the pandemic hit.

In contrast, rival hub Singapore handled 3.42 million passengers in September, 63 percent of pre-pandemic levels.