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Updated November 18th, 2019 at 22:53 IST

Multiple airlines cut flights to Hong Kong due to falling demand caused by violence

Asian Airlines has cut flight going to Hong Kong due to falling demand as a result of on-going anti-government protests which keep getting more violent

Reported by: Shubham Bose
AirAsia
| Image:self
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As pro-democracy protests continue and keep escalating in terms of violence in Hong Kong, several Asian Airlines have decided to cut flights to Hong Kong over the coming weeks. The anti-government protests have been growing increasingly violent and keep disrupting daily life. According to reports, the latest schedule of a lot of airlines showed cancellation. These airlines were  PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, India's SpiceJet Ltd, Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd, and the Philippines' PAL Holdings Inc and Cebu Air Inc.

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Protests getting violent

The cut to the flight schedules come as Hong Kong police fired tear gas at protesters trying to escape the besieged Polytechnic University and petrol bombs were thrown at police trying to enter the University. The pro-democracy and anti-government movements have been going on for six-months and the escalating Sino-US trade was has caused a recession of the Asian financial hub for the first time in a decade.

Read: AirAsia India Plans To Start Multiple Flights Connecting Ahmedabad

Unrest leading to falling demand

While Garuda and SpiceJet have not released any statements, several other airlines that have cancelled flight cite the falling demand and the cancellations by passengers due to the unrest and safety concerns. PAL Holdings' Phillippine Airlines said that because of passenger cancellations, they have had to use smaller planes than usual. Cebu Pacific said the budget carrier has cut flights from Cebu and Clark through December and January respectively due to softened demand and cancellations by passengers who are worried about their own safety.

The Airport Authority of Hong Kong reported on Sunday that in October, there was a decline of 13 per cent in passengers and 6.1 per cent in the number of inbound and outbound flights - the steepest falls since the unrest began. More and more the Hong Kong airport is being used as a transit point rather than a destination.  Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said its business outlook was "challenging and uncertain" and that it has cut capacity and delayed four plane deliveries due to falling demand.

Reports also say that several Chinese carriers such as Air China Ltd, China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd, and China Southern Airlines Co Ltd had filed for fresh capacity reductions to Hong Kong since late October.

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(With agency inputs)

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Published November 18th, 2019 at 15:13 IST

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