# Cathay Pacific lowers Q4 capacity forecast as travel restrictions linger
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-09-20
Category: BUSINESS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business
Meta Title: Cathay Pacific Airways Lowers Passenger Capacity Forecast
Meta Description: Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd has reduced its passenger capacity forecast for the year to 13% of pre-COVID levels as tough travel rules persist in Hong Kong.
URL: https://financedigest.com/cathay-pacific-lowers-q4-capacity-forecast-as-travel-restrictions-lingerhtml

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(Reuters) -Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Monday it had lowered its passenger capacity forecast for the remainder of the year to 13% of pre-COVID levels, down from an earlier 30% target for the fourth quarter as travel restrictions linger.

The airline said it continued to target cash burn of less than HK$1 billion ($130 million) a month for the rest of the year.

Hong Kong lacks a domestic aviation market and has some of the world’s toughest pandemic-related travel restrictions.

The city requires fully vaccinated travellers from destinations considered “high-risk”, including the United States and Britain, to spend three weeks in hotel quarantine.

Cathay last month said its target of reaching 30% of pre-COVID passenger capacity in the fourth quarter hinged on [quarantine rules](https://www.financedigest.com/stocks-advance-u-s-dollar-retreats-as-china-drops-quarantine-rule.html "Stocks advance, U.S. dollar retreats as China drops quarantine rule") for passengers and crew being relaxed.

Passenger numbers in [August were better than in previous months](https://www.financedigest.com/august-the-most-popular-month-to-start-a-holiday-home-search-reveals-portal.html "AUGUST THE MOST POPULAR MONTH TO START A HOLIDAY HOME SEARCH REVEALS PORTAL") because of strong student traffic from China to the United States and Britain but were 95.3% below the same month in 2019, the airline said.

Cathay said the cargo market strengthened in August, with freighter [demand ramping up to peak season levels](https://www.financedigest.com/delta-sees-return-to-profit-as-travel-demand-hits-historic-levels.html "Delta sees return to profit as travel demand hits ‘historic’ levels").

[Air cargo accounted for 80%](https://www.financedigest.com/iag-agrees-to-buy-80-stake-in-air-europa-for-400-million-euros.html "IAG agrees to buy 80% stake in Air Europa for 400 million euros") of the airline’s revenue in the first half of the year due to the pandemic-related hit to passenger demand.

($1 = 7.7875 [Hong Kong](https://www.financedigest.com/screening-of-winnie-the-pooh-horror-film-cancelled-in-hong-kong.html "Screening of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ horror film cancelled in Hong Kong") dollars)

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry Doyle)


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