The demand for flights out of Hong Kong has increased by as much as 306 percent compared to the same period last year, as citizens prepare to leave amid intermittent reports of mass Covid-19 testing and lockdowns.
According to data given to Bloomberg, ForwardKeys, a Valencia, Spain-based travel analytics business, has noted a “steep increase” in outbound reservations from January 4 to March 7, with Singapore and Shanghai being the most popular destinations during this period.
This was particularly true during the period beginning February 8, which coincided with the announcement by Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam of ever-tighter Covid-19 restrictions. Public meetings were restricted to two people instead of four, hair salons were shuttered, and tougher vaccination checks were needed at shopping malls and supermarkets. Early last month, there were also rumblings of widespread lockdowns being implemented.
Weekly reservations increased by 113 percent year on year for the seven days beginning March 1, but they were still down by 84 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating how far Hong Kong is from seeing a rebound in air travel. Singapore is the most readily accessible location for Hong Kong residents who have received vaccinations, whilst Shanghai is solely available to Chinese nationals.
According to its website, Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. has cut its services to twice weekly from seven, and the total number of daily seats on flights between Hong Kong and Shanghai has been slashed by 77 percent to only 408 as of Mar. 14 from 2,098 as of Feb. 25, according to statistics from Cirium.
