Australia to HK flights resume as Hong Kong airport reopens after protests

Australian air travel to Hong Kong is back on track, with services running close to schedule after airport protests.

Passengers wait in line at check-in counters at Hong Kong's International Airport. Flights are departing Hong Kong airport largely on schedule this morning. Picture: Philip Fong/AFP

Flights between Australia and Hong Kong have resumed overnight with services expected to operate close to scheduled time today, following the reopening of Hong Kong International Airport.

Qantas operated four flights overnight and will see off another four flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane today.

Virgin Australia’s services from Hong Kong were delayed last night but are due to depart this morning.

The late departure would mean the return flight from Sydney was pushed back until this afternoon with Melbourne services running on time.

“We continue to monitor the situation and will provide any updates to guests,” said a Virgin Australia spokeswoman.

“Please be assured that Virgin Australia is doing all we can to reduce any impact to guests during the disruption at Hong Kong International Airport.”

Cathay Pacific flights also resumed overnight, with some delays.

Hong Kong’s flagship carrier has cancelled hundreds of flights since protests began eight weeks ago and two pilots have been suspended for backing the pro-democracy protesters.

Airline chief executive Rupert Hogg had warned earlier that staff who supported or participated in “illegal” protests might be fired.

Meanwhile, ForwardKeys flight booking analysis shows Hong Kong is set to suffer a dramatic drop in visitors, with a 33.4 per cent fall in bookings between July 14 and August 9.

The decrease reverses a positive trend for the first half of the year, when bookings increased 6.6 per cent.

ForwardKeys’ spokesman David Tarsh said the deterioration in the situation in Hong Kong was having a significant effect on bookings.

“During June and early July, ForwardKeys saw no decline in long-haul bookings to Hong Kong, however, that is no longer the case. From June 16 to August 9, long-bookings were down 4.7 per cent on the equivalent period last year,” Mr Tarsh said.

“Furthermore, ForwardKeys’ latest numbers do not yet include the events of Monday when all flights were cancelled.”