HONG KONG – Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong’s flag carrier, said on Friday that the number of flights of both the airline and its budget arm Hong Kong Express is expected to return to 100 percent of pre-pandemic levels in January.

The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) predicts that the number of air travelers at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) could reach up to 200,000 per day at peak during Christmas this year, which will also mark a return to pre-pandemic levels.

Steven Yiu Siu-chung, AAHK’s executive director of airport operations, said at a recruitment event on Friday that the airport’s capacity has been fully restored to normal.

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He added that the authority has received applications for 1,150 flights per day after the launch of the three-runway system last month, close to the single-day average of 1,200 before the pandemic.

Compared with the same period in 2023, the passenger volume of HKIA increased by 38.6 percent to around 44 million, while flight movements recorded a 36.7 percent growth to 298,655 in the first 10 months of the year.

Both Cathay Pacific and AAHK have stepped up recruitment and staff training to deal with the rising passenger flow.

Cathay Pacific said it recruited and trained around 7,000 new employees this year, bringing the total number of staff to over 30,000, and making 2024’s recruitment the largest ever. It also stated it will continue to expand.

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Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Express Airways now employ more than 3,400 pilots, exceeding their initial recruitment targets for the year. During the Spring Festival peak this year, Cathay Pacific canceled some flights due to lack of pilots.

Yiu predicted that HKIA’s annual passenger volume would reach 120 million by 2035, requiring a workforce of 100,000. To meet this demand, about 40,000 more employees will be needed.

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AAHK has also increased its manpower and kept all security checkpoints open. As for the holiday season, the authority expects that the peak departure period will begin from the afternoon of Dec 20 to Dec 22, with the peak return period from Dec 27 to Dec 29.

Zhang Xiaoyang contributed to this story.