Hong Kong-based airlines are turning the crisis in the Middle East into an opportunity for growth by flexibly adjusting resources and considering increasing the frequency of flights for destinations that are underserved due to the conflict, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Wednesday.

Replying to a question at the Legislative Council, Chan also noted that passenger flights and passenger throughput at the Hong Kong International Airport increased in April by around 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively, year-on-year, despite some flight cancellations.

“Local airlines are actively turning this crisis into an opportunity,” she said in a written reply to LegCo member Chan Hak-kan.

She said that one local airline added three round-trip passenger flights to Paris and three round-trip passenger flights to Zurich, while increasing seat capacity on its existing 13 round-trip passenger flights to London last month.

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Chan said that while aviation fuel prices in the Asia-Pacific region have increased due to the crisis, maintaining stable air traffic capacity is crucial to consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub.

She said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has maintained communication with local airlines in the last two months to understand the industry's situation, emphasize the importance of maintaining the HKIA’s competitiveness and remind local airlines of their critical role and social responsibilities.

“After actively reviewing their flight schedules, local airlines have minimized flight adjustments so far as practicable during peak travel periods to reduce the impact on passengers and the competitiveness of HKIA,” Chan said.

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As of May 5, the Civil Aviation Department has received reports from airlines showing that, overall, less than around 5 percent of passenger flights to and from HKIA were cancelled for the traditional off-season for travel from May to June, she said.

For the traditional peak season in July, overall around 1 percent of flights were cancelled, she added.

Chan also pointed out that the reasons behind the cancelations include weather conditions, aircraft technical issues, operational considerations, and operational constraints at other airports.

“Therefore, the above figures may not fully reflect the extent of flight cancellations caused by fluctuations in fuel prices,” she said.