Asian airlines slash flights to Hong Kong as unrest escalates

By Jamie Freed
SYDNEY, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Several Asian airlines have cut
flights to Hong Kong over the coming weeks, according to
industry scheduling publication Routes Online, as
anti-government protests in the city grow increasingly violent
and disrupt daily life.
Routes online said latest schedules showed cancellations
from PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk GIAA.JK , India's
SpiceJet Ltd SPJT.NS , Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd AIRA.KL ,
and the Philippines' PAL Holdings Inc PAL.PS and Cebu Air Inc
CEB.PS .
The cuts come as Hong Kong police on Monday fired tear gas
at protesters trying to escape a besieged university, while
others armed with petrol bombs awaited an expected operation to
oust them. The unrest, raging for almost six months, and an escalating
Sino-U.S. trade war has pushed the Asian financial hub into
recession for the first time in a decade. On Monday, Routes Online showed Garuda has reduced weekly
flights to Hong Kong to four from 21 through mid-December,
SpiceJet has suspended its Mumbai-Hong Kong route through Jan.
15 and AirAsia has cut flights from Kuala Lumpur and Kota
Kinabalu in December and January.
Garuda and SpiceJet did not respond to Reuters' requests for
comment. AirAsia said passenger numbers have been lower over the
past few months and that it is adjusting capacity accordingly.
A spokeswoman for PAL Holdings' Philippine Airlines said the
carrier was using smaller planes than usual for Hong Kong as
passengers were postponing travel due to safety concerns. It has
also cut daily flights from Manila to four from five, she said.
A spokeswoman for Cebu Air's Cebu Pacific said the budget
carrier has cut flights from Cebu and Clark through December and
January respectively due to softened demand. She said the
airline nevertheless launched its Puerto Princesa-Hong Kong
route on Sunday as scheduled.
Airport Authority Hong Kong on Sunday reported an October
decline of 13% in passengers and 6.1% in the number of inbound
and outbound flights - the steepest falls since the unrest
began. It said a growing proportion of travellers were using
Hong Kong as a transit point rather than a destination.
Last week, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd 0293.HK said its
business outlook was "challenging and uncertain" and that it has
cut capacity and delayed four plane deliveries due to falling
demand. Major mainland Chinese carriers also reported double-digit
declines in demand on so-called regional routes in September and
October as protests in Hong Kong and travel restrictions to
Taiwan took their toll, monthly traffic reports showed.
Routes Online said several Chinese carriers, including Air
China Ltd 601111.SS 0753.HK , China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd
600115.SS and China Southern Airlines Co Ltd 600029.SS had
filed for fresh capacity reductions to Hong Kong since late
October.
China Eastern declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Air China and China Southern did not respond to requests for
comment.

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Security tight at HK university as hundreds of protesters
trapped on campus Kong confirms economy fell into recession amid protests,
trade war Kong's Cathay defers delivery of 4 Airbus planes as demand
falls airlines hit by slides in demand on routes to Hong Kong,
Taiwan ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>