Exclusive | Hong Kong Airlines to cut hundreds of jobs as its finances worsen amid coronavirus outbreak

City’s third biggest carrier is facing fresh financial crisis as its expected income from air tickets has reduced drastically due to cancellation of flights to mainland China

The airline has been walking a financial tightrope for more than a year amid anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak

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Hong Kong Airlines employed 3,481 people as of January 1, 2020. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 3:44pm, 31 Jan 2020Updated: 11:09pm, 31 Jan 2020

Hong Kong Airlines, the sole hometown competitor to Cathay Pacific, is finalising plans to cut hundreds of jobs imminently, the Post has learned, as the worsening coronavirus outbreak throws the HNA-backed company’s existence into further uncertainty.

The city’s third biggest carrier is facing a fresh financial crisis as its expected income from air tickets has reduced drastically due to a massive cancellation of flights to mainland China amid the outbreak.

With the beleaguered carrier employing around 3,500 people, several hundred jobs are at risk, as was previously reported by the Post. Pilots and cabin crew, who form the bulk of the employees, remain the most vulnerable.

The airline has walked a financial tightrope for more than a year as Hong Kong’s months-long anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak have caused a sharp downturn in air travel.

Hong Kong Airlines has walked a financial tightrope for more than a year. Photo: Bloomberg

Sources said the airline had been forced to act quickly amid the new financial crisis, despite receiving a cash bailout late last year.