Flights resume after Typhoon Usagi leaves travellers stranded
Flights and ferries have resumed in Hong Kong and China after a typhoon left travellers stranded.
Frustrated passengers spent the night at Chek Lap Kok airport after 177 arriving flights and 193 departures were cancelled due to the tropical storm Usagi – rated the world’s strongest storm this year.
A total of 76 flights were also delayed.
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flag carrier, halted local operations at 6pm on Sunday, saying it would resume services today.
The airline said: "Cathay Pacific will resume services progressively from 12:00 today as weather conditions permit. We anticipate continued flight delays and cancellations with safety as our top priority and main consideration as operations gradually return to normal.
"We recommend passengers allow 3 hours before flight departure to accommodate time required for transportation and security check and immigration services at the airport."
Air China cancelled 148 flights as of yesterday as airports in Xiamen, Shantou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macau were affected.
Trains from Guangzhou to Beijing were also suspended.
Hong Kong airport said ferry services to critical manufacturing areas in Guangdong, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan, had been cancelled.
Ferries to Macau, the Chinese territory and world’s largest gambling centre, were also stopped.
At least 25 people were killed in Guangdong province, and 3.56 million residents on the Chinese mainland were affected by the storm, reports the BBC.
Hong Kong Observatory raised its storm warning level to Signal No 8 on Sunday night, forcing public transport across the region to stop operations.
But Usagi has since been downgraded to a tropical depression.
Weather officials say that the ferocity of the storm has abated as it progressed into southern China with Hong Kong escaping the worst of it.
Diane
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