More than 500 weekend flights have been cancelled as Hong Kong braces for the arrival of Typhoon Wipha, with the Observatory issuing the first No. 8 signal this year on Sunday which was then elevated to No. 10 later in the morning.
The highest level is Signal No. 10. Once any signal that is higher than No. 3 is issued, government agencies, schools, financial markets, and most of the private sector close their operations.
According to Hong Kong International Airport’s website, the approaching storm had resulted in the cancellation of at least 249 incoming flights and 248 departing ones on Sunday as reported by South China Morning Post
The Airport Authority said it expected there would be no departing flights between 6am and 12pm on Sunday, and it would take one to two days before operations returned to normal but a small number of long-haul flights which had already departed from elsewhere will arrive,” said Wing Yeung Tat-wing, the authority’s service delivery director.
At least 14 inbound flights and eight outbound journeys scheduled for Saturday were also cancelled. Around eight to 10 of such long-haul flights would be arriving on Sunday, Yeung said.
Originally, 900 flights were scheduled to arrive in and leave Hong Kong on Sunday, and Yeung warned that the storm would lead to lots of journeys being cancelled or delayed.
Yeung said land transport to and from the airport would be affected when the No 8 signal was in force, and would be completely suspended if higher warnings were issued.
“Arriving passengers will need to wait patiently in the terminal until the weather has eased and land transport has gradually resumed before they can leave the airport,” he said. The airport will deploy more than 1,000 staff to work overnight from Saturday to help passengers, and more than 10 restaurants and convenience stores will also stay open.
Typhoon hit Vietnam first
On July 19, adverse weather conditions at Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City airports caused airlines to suspend several flights, divert landings to alternate airports, or delay departures while waiting for safe operating conditions. Typhoon Wipha forced Vietnam Airlines to adjust flights to and from Hong Kong on July 20, with more delays possible.
But most shockingly, 38 local tourists lost their lives when their boat capsized on July 19 in what some called Ha Long Bay’s worst-ever disaster. The tourist vessel had been carrying 53 people around the Unesco World Heritage Site for a day tour. “The whirlwind came just so suddenly. This may be the worst accident ever in Ha Long Bay,” a rescue worker said, adding it had been “unpredictable and also unpreparable.”
Hong Kong airlines cancel or delay flights
Cathay Pacific announced that all flights scheduled to arrive in or depart from the city between 5am and 6pm on Sunday would either be delayed or cancelled.
Cathay also joined HK Express, Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines, among others, in announcing they would waive the ticket changing fees for affected passengers.
Cathay urged customers not to directly contact it, as it was already handling a high volume of calls. The company added that passengers would be notified by SMS or email once alternative flight arrangements had been made.
Airports in China affected as typhoon barrels its way to China
The typhoon is barreling its way to Southern China and many hundreds of flights are affected at several airports such as Shenzhen where China Eastern was hit the hardest, with 91% of its flights cancelled
At Shanghai Pudong, over 300 flights were severely affected, with Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines forced to reschedule multiple long-haul flights. China Eastern and Emirates were also among the most disrupted carriers.
At Beijing Capital International Airport, there were over 200 delays and over 40 cancellations. Air China and Japan Airlines experienced substantial delays. Beijing Daxing International Airport faced over 100 delays and cancellations. Japan Airlines and Emirates flights were delayed for hours due to restricted airspace, as storm systems approached northern China.
In Macau, the government planned to raise its alert to the No. 10 signal on Sunday afternoon according to the Government Information Bureau’s website. However, major hotels in the city including the Venetian, the Parisian, the Londoner and the Four Seasons plan to remain open.
