Family trip to HK disrupted as Cathay Pacific axes flights
A family of 14 from Singapore were looking forward to their Hong Kong holiday, having pre-booked activities such as a museum visit and a slime-making workshop on Sept 3.
But what was supposed to be an exciting start to a five-day trip for Mr Lim’s group – including five children – turned into a logistical nightmare after Cathay Pacific delayed and then cancelled their flight, before rebooking them onto another flight that would depart 12 hours later than scheduled.
Speaking to The Straits Times over the phone from Changi Airport, the 34-year-old, who declined to give his full name, said the original flight was scheduled to depart Singapore at 8am on Sept 3.
But at around 4pm on Sept 2, he was notified via text message that they had been rebooked onto another flight that would depart at 4.05pm on Sept 3.
Hours later, he received another notification that the 4.05pm flight had been cancelled. Another hour later, he was notified that they had been rebooked onto another flight at 8.10pm on Sept 3.
“We’re very disappointed in the way Cathay has handled this issue,” said Mr Lim.
“Until now, no one has come to let us know the cause of the delays and cancellations. I had to google media reports to find out what happened. They don’t even have a statement on Facebook.”
On Sept 2, the Hong Kong-based airline identified a component failure on a Zurich-bound plane that was forced to turn back to Hong Kong. A follow-up check of its Airbus A350 fleet found 15 aircraft – out of 48 – with components that needed replacement.
“This component was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide,” the airline said.
Cathay Pacific axed 24 return flights on Sept 3, including to Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Taipei and Osaka. It said it will cancel another 10 flights on Sept 4, but all affected aircraft are expected to resume operations by Sept 7, reported AFP.
Mr Lim said his family will try to recover the fees for the flight disruptions from their insurer. But he added that they might face an issue with checking in at their accommodation after landing in Hong Kong, as it would be after midnight and their hotel’s reception desk is not staffed at that time.
Complaints about cancelled flights have also surfaced on social media platform Xiaohongshu, where users flying from Hong Kong to Singapore as well as other cities griped about disrupted travel plans.
Said Mr Lim: “We’re not the kind of people that will make a big fuss at the airport counter. But we just want an explanation (for this situation).”
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