The airline is cutting passenger capacity by 96%, operating only a handful of flights to select destinations until the end of May.
Cathay Pacific Airways will operate three weekly flights to just 12 destinations – London, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Tokyo, Taipei, New Delhi, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and Sydney.
Subsidiary Cathay Dragon will fly three times a week to Beijing, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur.
“We need to take difficult but decisive measures as the scale of the challenge facing the global aviation industry is unprecedented,” chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam said.
Since the outbreak first hit in Wuhan nearly three months ago, Cathay has been among the hardest hit airlines, following several months of plummeting demand in its home market due to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
It is bracing for a large loss this year and has already asked staff to take unpaid leave.
“Our ability to maintain even this skeleton schedule will depend on whether more travel restrictions are imposed by governments around the world which will further dampen passenger demand,” the airline said.
Cathay’s stock has plunged by nearly a third this year to its lowest level for more than a decade.
