Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines aircraft remain parked on the tarmac in mid-March at Hong Kong International Airport. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG-The Hong Kong government on Monday announced a much-needed HK$1 billion (US$128 million) relief package to help the city’s aviation industry survive the COVID-19 outbreak.
The SAR government and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) said on Monday they have put together a HK$1 billion package, comprising a government waiver of HK$670 million for Air Traffic Control Charges in 2019-20 for the AA, which will be passed on in full to the airport community, and HK$330 million from the AA.
The relief package is expected to benefit over 400 companies, including airlines, aviation support and associated passenger services, airport retail tenants and restaurants, and also airport staff, the SAR government said in a statement.
The major portion of the support will be allocated to direct support measures for the aviation industry. Further rental concessions will also be provided to retail and restaurant tenants at Hong Kong International Airport. To help airport staff, a training incentive will be provided to front-line personnel to undertake training while on unpaid leave.
"The aviation industry is an important driver of Hong Kong's economy. We are determined to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness as an international aviation hub, and even more so in challenging times.
"With the package of relief measures jointly rolled out by the government and the AA, we stand with the airport community to weather the storm together,” the statement read.
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship airline, announced last week that it will slash passenger capacity by 96 percent in April and May as the coronavirus shuts down travel across the world.
On some days in February, Cathay flight bookings fell to as low as 11,000 from the standard 90,000, the government revealed earlier this month.
Passenger load factor declined to about 50 percent by the end of February - about a month after airlines began cutting operations because of the coronavirus - and year-on-year yield fell significantly.
Airline HK Express, Cathay Pacific’s budget airline, said on March 20 it would suspend all flight operations from March 23 until April 30 because of a significant drop in travel demand due to the coronavirus outbreak.
