Travellers at Hong Kong airport are set for more delayed flights and cancellations after authorities closed check-in for all remaining flights due to depart Hong Kong today.
"Airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted, all departure flights have been cancelled," said the Hong Kong Airport Authority in a statement.
"All passengers are advised to leave the terminal buildings as soon as possible. Affected passengers please contact their respective airlines for flight arrangement."
Several UAE flights that were cancelled or significantly delayed following the closure on Monday had already resumed operations.
Etihad Airways flight EY833, destined for Abu Dhabi International Airport, departed Hong Kong at 5pm local time today. The flight was originally meant to depart at 7.45pm on Monday.
"We regret any inconvenience caused by this extended delay,” a spokesperson for Etihad Airways said. “The safety of our guests and crew is Etihad Airways’s highest priority.”
Several flights in and out of Hong Kong International Airport were cancelled on Monday due to ongoing political protests at the airport. Several more departures have now been cancelled in a second shut down.
Emirates Airlines could be impacted by the new closure. Dubai bound flight EK383 due to fly Monday was set to operate as EK8383 leaving Hong Kong at 7.10pm tonight. However, this could change due to the second shutdown. Passengers from EK387 and EK381 were also set to be rebooked on this flight.
“We are monitoring the situation closely, and aim to give customers as much notice as possible if there are any further changes to our operations,” the Emirates notice read.
"All other flights to/from Hong Kong remain unaffected as of now, however passengers are advised to regularly check www.emirates.com for the latest flight schedules," Emirates told The National.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will continue to monitor the situation closely and update our customers if additional flights are affected.”
Hong Kong Airport authority had previously said that it would implement flight rescheduling today. Its latest statement advised members of the public not to come to the airport and reminded passengers to check the latest flight information before starting a journey to Hong Kong International airport.
Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest flight information.
Other airlines
According to information from Hong Kong airport, EgyptAir flight number MS961, that was due to depart Hong Kong at 8.50pm today, is cancelled.
Air India flight number AI315 bound for New Delhi with a Hong Kong departure time of 6.05pm is also cancelled.
Additionally, several Cathay Pacific flights have been cancelled. This is primarily on services across Asia, but incoming and outgoing flights to and from the United States and to Europe have also been cancelled by Hong Kong's flag carrier. These services remain scrapped until at least Tuesday evening and the airline is advising customers to postpone non-essential travel out of Hong Kong until Wednesday.
State-owned Air China has also cancelled several flights out of Hong Kong on Tuesday as have many regional airlines including China Eastern, HK Express, Shenzen Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and Mandarin Airlines.
