Hong Kong’s Airlines Evacuate Planes as They Wait Out Typhoon Ragasa

As Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s astir almighty tropical cyclone this year, approached Hong Kong this week, wide formation cancellations and mislaid gross were not the lone headache for airlines based astatine 1 of the world’s busiest airports.

Ahead of the accomplishment of hurricane-force winds and torrential rainfall connected Wednesday, astir 80% of the craft belonging to the 4 main airlines based successful the metropolis had been relocated to oregon grounded astatine airports successful Japan, China, Cambodia, Europe, Australia and different locations, Flightradar24 tracking information showed.

The bulk of Hong Kong’s concern pitchy fleet besides moved retired of the territory up of the storm, the Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre said.

All landings and departures astatine Hong Kong, the world’s busiest cargo airdrome and the ninth busiest for planetary rider traffic, were canceled for 36 hours starting connected Tuesday evening.

Hong Kong’s largest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, said connected Monday the typhoon was going to person “a important impact” connected its operations and it would cancel much than 500 long-haul and determination flights.

“We are positioning immoderate of our craft distant from Hong Kong and expect a staggered and gradual resumption to our docket passim Thursday into Friday,” said the airline, which has a fleet of 179 rider and freighter planes.

Hong Kong issued typhoon awesome 10, its highest warning, aboriginal connected Wednesday, which urges businesses and transport services to unopen down.

It is modular manufacture signifier for airlines to determination craft overseas during large upwind events oregon arsenic struggle hazard rises to debar imaginable damage, often to comply with security obligations.

At slightest 14 Cathay Pacific jets flew from Hong Kong to Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Techo airdrome connected Tuesday to hold retired the storm, according to tracking information and Techo airport.

Airlines tin besides preemptively nonstop craft distant from their main basal truthful they are acceptable to run instrumentality flights erstwhile a tempest subsides.

In precocious winds, airlines tin store craft successful hangars, oregon adhd other substance to measurement them down. Smaller craft tin beryllium tied down.

Hong Kong-based Greater Bay Airlines, a tiny bearer with 7 aircraft, said it had parked each its planes distant from Hong Kong arsenic a information precaution.

Its Boeing 737s flew to airports successful Japan and China connected Tuesday, tracking information shows.

Hong Kong Airlines likewise appeared to person kept each but 1 of its 28 craft retired of Hong Kong.

Cathay and its low-cost subsidiary HK Express kept much of their planes successful Hong Kong, tracking information showed.

Cathay and HK Express did not respond to requests for remark astir however they were storing their planes. In a 2017 interior publication, Cathay said it had stored immoderate of its planes successful hangars astatine Hong Kong airdrome during past cyclones, portion others had been sent to different destinations.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington successful Seoul; editing by Jamie Freed)

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