Cathay Pacific flew more than one million passengers in January for the first time in a month since the pandemic.
The volume was up by 4,000% compared with the same month in 2022 as Chinese mainland Covid travel restrictions were lifted, the airline reported.
The traffic figures for January showed “positive signs” as the airline continued to rebuild and restore connectivity at the Hong Kong international aviation hub.
Chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: “The new year got off to a positive start in January as Cathay Pacific carried more than one million passengers for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“We carried on average more than 33,000 passengers per day, up from about 26,000 per day in December 2022, and operated 18% more capacity than we did in December. We also continued to add more destinations in January, with our Phuket and Xi’an flights resuming.
“With the return of quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland on 8 January, we saw increased demand for travel into the Chinese mainland, both from and through Hong Kong.
“We have been increasing our flights accordingly and by the end of the month, we were operating up to three return flights per day to Shanghai and 11 return flights per week to Beijing.”
Lou added: “Looking at February and beyond, we are working hard to increase our passenger flight capacity as much as possible over the coming months, especially in the lead-up to the Easter holiday.
“Demand for flights to and from the Chinese mainland, both for point-to-point and connecting traffic via Hong Kong, is expected to grow and we are endeavouring to provide more options for our customers as quickly as feasible.
“We are on track to operate more than 100 return flights per week to 14 cities in the Chinese mainland by the end of this month.”