Hong Kong rule changes offer only limited relief for Cathay Pacific

The partial easing of Hong Kong's entry restrictions will help Cathay Pacific restore at least some traffic from key markets, although the growth rate will remain glacial as long as other constraints stay in place.

The Hong Kong government plans to lift a suspension on flights from nine countries from 1-Apr-2022, and it will also shorten the quarantine measures for all vaccinated Hong Kong residents entering the Special Administrative Region (SAR). But Cathay Pacific is still keeping most of its international frequencies at very low levels due to the risk of triggering flight-specific suspensions.

While Hong Kong's latest moves still fall far short of the broader reopenings announced by other Asia-Pacific countries, the easing is significant in that it marks a change in direction from the SAR's recent trend of tightening. Although the pandemic has often proved such predictions premature, this could mark an inflexion point for Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific.

However, the rate of improvement needs to increase dramatically before any meaningful recovery is within sight.