Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific makes steady progress to clear backlog (17:45 Hong Kong Time)
23 April 2010
 
Cathay Pacific said today it was making steady progress in clearing the backlog of passengers disrupted by the closure of European airports.
Since the airline resumed services to Europe on Wednesday, the airline has carried 12,600 passengers on its network to and from London, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan and Amsterdam.
Of these, 7,400 were passengers whose flights had been delayed or cancelled because of the closure brought about by the volcanic ash fallout from Iceland.
The airline has estimated that more than 20,000 of its passengers had their travel plans disrupted during the crisis.

So far, the airline has added ten extra flights and added more seats on some 30 London and Rome return flights using larger aircraft.

An extra flight took 300 passengers to London today and a further additional flight to London will be mounted shortly after midnight on Saturday to carry another 300 home.

"With the next additional flight to London, and our upgrading of passenger capacity to Rome and London, we will continue to assist large numbers of people whose flights have been disrupted," Director Service Delivery Ivan Chu said.

"Our disrupted passengers have been through a trying and frustrating experience, and we are very grateful to them for their patience and understanding.
"It is difficult to say with precision when the last disrupted passenger will be flown home, as many will have already cancelled, postponed their plans or have simply decided not to travel.

"We are doing our best to get our disrupted passengers on board our aircraft as soon as possible."

Those passengers with confirmed bookings are advised to arrive at the airport about three hours before scheduled departure.