Hong Kong lost ‘awful lot of ground’ to aviation hub rivals, rebuilding will be challenge, global industry body says

Hong Kong faces a “difficult and challenging” task in rebuilding its role as an aviation hub, while the city’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways is expected to operate at only 60% of its pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year, the head of a global airline association has said.<br/>But the outlook for the industry as a whole was positive, DG of the IATA Willie Walsh told its annual meeting in Istanbul on Monday, predicting global profits would reach US$9.8b this year, double its forecast in December, on the back of stronger demand for travel. Walsh told the Post last December he did not expect Hong Kong would fully regain its status as an aviation hub before 2028, pointing to “structural changes” in the city following three years of Covid-19 travel restrictions. Asked again about his earlier comments, Walsh admitted his timeline was based on a “feeling” about where Hong Kong was in the recovery process compared with rivals. “It is rebuilding, but I think it has lost an awful lot of ground and that lost ground is going to take time to recover,” he said, adding it was going to be a “very difficult and challenging task”. Cathay faced a complex process in rebuilding its international network, Walsh argued. “I think Cathay will be operating at 60% capacity this year as they retrain pilots, many of whom have not flown in the past two years,” he said.<br/>