Cathay Pacific Airways plans to cut around 30% of its capacity over the next two months, including around 90% of its flights to mainland China, as it grapples with the coronavirus epidemic, its CEO said Tuesday. Hong Kong reported its first death from the newly identified coronavirus on Tuesday, the second outside mainland China from an outbreak that has killed more than 420 people, spread around the world and raised fears for global economic growth. The financial centre last week ordered its airlines to cut capacity to mainland China by at least 50% due to the epidemic and its government has faced pressure from citizens to take further measures to close its borders as case numbers rise. Cathay CEO Augustus Tang on Tuesday told staff the airline would keep monitoring the situation and adjust capacity again if needed. “These cuts are temporary for now and driven by the commercial and operational realities at the current time, as well as the projections in short-term demand,” he said. Tang said the airline would announce “further measures” to help it get through the situation in the days ahead, without providing further detail. “If the outbreak worsens in Hong Kong specially, we can also anticipate transit volumes dry up at Hong Kong International Airport, which would be catastrophic for Cathay,” BOCOM International analyst Luya You said. Cathay said in an announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange that the airline’s financial position remained strong and would enable it to maintain the quality of its products and services despite the current difficult trading conditions.<br/>