Long lines at airport and on public transport around the city as Hong Kong picks up the pieces after storm
Hong Kong International Airport was on Wednesday night scrambling to handle a backlog of flights left by Typhoon Hato, operating both its runways through the night instead of one as per normal.
The storm prompted the Hong Kong Observatory to issue its highest storm warning, a No 10 signal, earlier in the day, which was later downgraded to No 8 at 2.10pm and No 3 at 5.10pm as the storm moved farther away from the city.
The No 10 warning indicates hurricane force winds above 118km/h and gusts exceeding 220km/h are expected.
Flights finally started to depart and arrive the Chek Lap Kok airport when the signal was lowered to No 1 at 6.20pm.
The Airport Authority said 480 flights had been cancelled as of 5pm on Wednesday, ruining the travel plans of thousands of passengers.
“The two runways at the airport will operate overnight. The Airport Authority and its service contractors will send more staff to assist passengers, ” said Chapman Fong, the authority’s general manager for Terminal 1.
Normally one runway is closed overnight for maintenance.
The authority said the airport would handle about 600 departing and arriving flights between 5pm on Wednesday and 6am on Thursday.
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Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon, Hong Kong’s flagship airlines, cancelled about 320 flights scheduled to take off or land between 6am and 5pm on Wednesday. The carriers said they would have a total of 108 flights departing overnight.
Hong Kong Airlines cancelled 32 flights before departures and arrivals gradually resumed on Wednesday afternoon. The airline said 45 would be handled during the night.
At the airport, there were long lines of desperate travellers waiting to check in.
Robelta Sala, her husband Ivan Canali and their daughter were sitting on their suitcases, looking tired. Their Air France flight back to Italy had been delayed for almost 17 hours, from 11.35am on Wednesday to 4am on Thursday.
“We never expected to encounter a typhoon, ” Canali said. “It’s our first time seeing one.
