Super Typhoon Bavi: dozens of Hong Kong flights cancelled as storm nears Taiwan

Dozens of outbound flights from Hong Kong to Taiwan, mainland China and Japan originally scheduled for later this week have been cancelled due to Super Typhoon Bavi, with some local carriers offering special arrangements for affected passengers.

A South China Morning Post check found that more than 40 flights – operated by Cathay Pacific Airways, HK Express, Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines – had been cancelled and 10 delayed to Sunday. The affected routes span destinations ranging from Taipei to Okinawa.

Cathay Pacific, its budget arm, HK Express, and Hong Kong Airlines have announced that they will waive ticket change fees for affected passengers.

The flight disruptions come as Bavi, named after a mountain range in Vietnam, moves toward the seas east of Taiwan throughout Thursday and Friday. The Hong Kong Observatory said the storm was expected to later approach the coast of eastern China.

As of 8am on Thursday, the maximum sustained wind speed near the super typhoon centre had reached 195km/h (121mph), with the Observatory forecasting its maximum speed to increase to 205km/h by 8am the next day.

The wave of flight cancellations has affected trips to destinations such as Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Zhoushan in mainland China and Okinawa and Ishigaki in Japan. Most of the flights had been scheduled for Friday and Saturday.