Passenger numbers plummet on Hong Kong flights

By Jo Tweedy, TravelMail

Last updated at 09:14 16 April 2003


As killer flu virus SARS continues to spread, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific have warned that it may be forced to ground its 70-strong fleet as passengers stop flying for fear of catching the disease.

In a memo to the press, airline officials called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) the 'gravest threat (to them) since the 1991 Gulf War' and said they expected passenger figures to plummet by 20%.

Both business and tourism in Hong Kong have been affected since the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned travellers against visiting the former British colony.

The airline is reported to be losing $3million a day and is expecting worse to come as passenger figures continue to fall.

Nick Rhodes, the airline's director of flight operations, said in a statement: 'We forecast that the number of passengers could fall to less than 6,000 a day in May, in which case we would have to consider grounding the fleet.'

The impact of SARS was also evident in the city yesterday where Cathy Pacific shares slumped a further six percent losing a quarter of their value in a month.

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