Hong Kong air cargo hit hard by Typhoon Ragasa

Hong Kong resumed flights from its international airport on September 25 after a 36-hour suspension due to Super Typhoon Ragasa. However, operations had partially restarted on the evening of September 24, with the first reported landing in nearly 24 hours being a China Airlines Cargo Boeing 777 freighter.

In a press release on September 24, the airport announced that as Typhoon Ragasa moves away from Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) will remain open and operational, with the Airport Emergency Centre activated. However, due to strong gusts and crosswinds, airlines will not operate passenger flights before midnight for safety reasons. Starting from 0600 hrs on September 25, airlines will gradually resume services, with all three runways operating simultaneously. The airport added that recovery will take time as the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) implements the Flight Rescheduling Control System to manage post-storm operations.

Cathay Cargo told The STAT Trade Times that it had suspended all freighter operations. Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific announced in its travel advisory that it had cancelled three long-haul departures from Hong Kong on the morning of September 23, CX383 to Zurich, CX880 to Los Angeles, and CX844 to New York–JFK. Additionally, several other flights scheduled to depart on the morning and afternoon of September 23 were cancelled, along with all flights arriving at and departing from Hong Kong between 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23, and 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 25.

On September 25, Cathay Pacific announced that its long-haul passenger flights from the Americas, Europe, and Australia had all arrived safely early in the morning and were being prepared for same-day departures. However, the airline cautioned that a full recovery would take time. Since 6:00 a.m., Hong Kong International Airport has been operating its Flight Rescheduling Control System (FRCS), which restricts arrivals and departures until the airport can safely manage traffic volumes. Under this system, airlines must submit slot requests for departures. As the home carrier, Cathay Pacific has around a third of this allocation, with restrictions expected to ease gradually as capacity and operations are restored.

While the airport has reopened following the world’s most powerful typhoon and operations are gradually returning to normal, cargo activities at one of the world’s busiest airports have been severely affected. The disruption to air cargo operations became evident in the aftermath of the storm.

Tim van Leeuwen, Vice President and Head of Consulting at Rotate, a cargo and capacity tracking platform, said in a LinkedIn post that Typhoon Ragasa wreaked havoc at the world’s busiest air cargo hub, affecting an estimated 26,000 tonnes of air cargo. According to Rotate Live Capacity data, flight cancellations disrupted the equivalent of 160 Boeing 777 freighters operating into and out of the airport, requiring substantial efforts by airlines worldwide to clear backlogs and adjust schedules.

“Fortunately, airport operations seem to be fully up and running since the airport reopened this Thursday,” he said.

van Leeuwen, in an earlier post, said that Rotate’s Live Capacity data indicated that around 30,000 tonnes of cargo could be affected in the next 36 hours. He added that it could take a while to clear stranded cargo, aircraft, and crew.

Wilson Kwong, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl), one of the world’s leading air cargo terminal operators at Hong Kong International Airport, told The STAT Trade Times that the company is preparing for the busy period ahead of the typhoon and planning the recovery process afterward.

On September 26, Kwong, while mentioning the situation, said operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been recovering well. Passenger flights were given higher priority on September 25, and the Hactl cargo terminal was very busy on Friday (September 26).

Earlier, data from Rotate showed that outbound cargo capacity from Hong Kong International Airport dropped sharply within just two days, falling from nearly 12,000 tonnes on September 21, 2025, to around 7,000 tonnes on September 23, 2025.

According to recent data from Rotate, outbound capacity from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) saw a sharp dip followed by a swift recovery between 21st and 26th September 2025. Capacity dropped significantly on 23rd September, reaching a low of approximately 2,000 tonnes by the 24th. However, this was quickly reversed, with outbound capacity rebounding strongly and surpassing 12,000 tonnes again by 25th September.

Freightos reported that disruptions to ocean logistics caused by Typhoon Ragasa could lead to a short-term shift to air cargo. On September 25, the Freightos Air Index showed weekly rate increases on key trade lanes: China to North America rose 4% to $5.44/kg, China to Northern Europe increased 2% to $3.72/kg, and Northern Europe to North America went up 3% to $1.77/kg.