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Almost 900 Hong Kong Flights Canceled as Typhoon Batters City

Almost 900 Hong Kong Flights Canceled Ahead of Dangerous Typhoon

Storm clouds cover the city of Hong Kong, China. (Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg News)
Storm clouds cover the city of Hong Kong, China. (Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg News)

(Bloomberg) -- Airlines and passengers over parts of Asia have been grounded as Typhoon Mangkhut belted Hong Kong with mammoth gales and rain before moving toward China’s Guangdong province.

According to the Hong Kong Airport Authority, 889 flights were canceled Sunday because of the storm. The city’s Airport Express train and bus service were also suspended.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said in a statement that it was experiencing “severe disruptions” and the resumption of operations on Monday will depend on weather conditions. The airline canceled more than 400 flights, while Cathay Dragon and Hong Kong Airlines grounded their fleets on Sunday.

Almost 900 Hong Kong Flights Canceled as Typhoon Batters City

Hong Kong International Airport said ferry services between the airport and all of the Pearl River Delta ports had been suspended until further notice.

Air China Ltd canceled more than 200 flights, mostly in and out of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Hainan, as of 2 p.m. Sunday.

China Southern Airlines Co. scrapped all flights to and from Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Hong Kong on Sunday, and suspended those after midday in Zhanjiang and Haikou, and later than 1 p.m. in Beihai. All but six flights in and out of Guangzhou between midday Sunday and 8 a.m. Monday were canceled, the airline said.

China Eastern Airlines Co. grounded most of its planes covering these areas.

AirAsia Group Bhd said service disruption was expected to continue through Monday. It canceled all flights to and from Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shantou, and axed 29 flights on Saturday.

Philippine Airlines Inc. suspended 10 international flights on Sunday. In Vietnam, the national carrier suspended four flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong on Sunday, and delayed two between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong on Monday, Vietnam Plus reported, citing information from Vietnam Airlines.

Hong Kong issued its highest storm warning as the typhoon’s top wind had a speed of 195 kilometers per hour (120 mph), according to the U.S. Navy and Air Force’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii as of 11:30 a.m. local time.

--With assistance from Winnie Zhu and Sarah Chen.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lilian Karunungan in Singapore at lkarunungan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tomoko Yamazaki at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net, Jason Koutsoukis, Stanley James

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.