Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: AFP / Zhu Wei
Hong Kong International Airport will suspend all passenger flights for 36 hours from Tuesday evening, Qantas Airways says, as the Asian financial hub prepares for one of its strongest super typhoons in years.
Hong Kong's Airport will be closed from 8pm (local time) on 23 September to 8am on 25 September, Qantas said in a statement, adding that it would contact customers who are affected.
Air NZ confirmed this evening that the following services have been cancelled:
- NZ81 Auckland to Hong Kong on 23 September
- NZ80 Hong Kong to Auckland on 23 September
- NZ81 Auckland to Hong Kong on 24 September
- NZ80 Hong Kong to Aucklandon 24 September
"To ensure the safety of our customers and crew, and in line with local airport and aviation authority directives, flight schedules to and from Hong Kong and Taipei may be disrupted during this period," said Air NZ.
The airline said affected travellers can defer their travel to a later Air New Zealand flight on the same routes, in the same cabin class, within 14 days of the original travel dates without any change fees or service fees.
Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific said it expected to cancel more than 500 flights as Super Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit the Chinese financial hub.
"Starting at 6:00 pm tomorrow, September 23, Cathay Pacific's passenger flights arriving at and departing from Hong Kong International Airport will cease operations until resuming during daytime hours on Thursday," a spokeswoman for the airline said at a Monday press conference.
"More than 500 flights are currently expected to be cancelled."
Ragasa is crossing the Luzon Strait between southern Taiwan and northern Philippines, and is expected to hit Hong Kong and southern China on Tuesday.
As of 0300GMT (3pm NZST), maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometres per hour were reported at the storm's centre, with gusts reaching up to 265kmh as it moved westward towards the Babuyans, the Philippines' national weather service said.
The Hong Kong Observatory forecast the city will see "gale to storm force winds" on Wednesday.
The weather is expected to deteriorate rapidly from Tuesday, and gale-force to storm-force winds will impact the densely populated city on Wednesday, with winds expected to reach hurricane force offshore and on high ground.
Across the city, residents started stockpiling daily necessities on Monday morning. Long queues formed at supermarkets where products like milk had already sold out, while vegetables were being sold for more than triple their normal price at fresh markets, according to Reuters witnesses.
The Philippines suspended work and classes across Metro Manila and large parts of the country on Monday as Ragasa moved toward northern Luzon, threatening destructive winds and heavy rain.
- AFP/Reuters
