Some 100,000 travelers stranded at Hong Kong International Airport on Sunday as Typhoon Wiphabore down on the city are expected to fly out today as life gradually returned to normal with the cancellation of all tropical cyclone warnings shortly after 5 am on Monday.
Airport Authority Hong Kong said on Monday evening that the airport maintained smooth operation, with about 1,500 flights handled on Sunday and Monday. It’s confident all the passengers can board their flights within the day and expected to resume normal operations on Tuesday.
Up to 500 flights were scrapped and another 400 were rescheduled on Sunday as Wipha – the more severe storm to hit Hong Kong since 2023 – lashed the territory with gale force winds, forcing weathermen to host the maximum No 10 hurricane signal.
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Steven Yiu Siu-chung -- the authority’s executive director of airport operations – and Civil Aviation Department Director-General Victor Liu Chi-yung inspected the airport on Monday morning to assess the clearance operation.
Yiu said the peak summer travel period had contributed to the heavy passenger load, particularly in the departure hall but, overall, the operation has been orderly.
He said the situation is under control and is confident that all the passengers can fly out at the end of the day.
To cope with the situation, AAHK and airlines have increased manpower to help those stranded and distributed supplies such as bottled water, dry foodstuffs and blankets to passengers. The authority also provided two rest centers to accommodate about 400 staff members to ensure sufficient support.
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However, heavy traffic congestion was reported near the airport, with long queues forming on Airport Road as early as 6:45am. Some taxis had to be diverted to Regal Airport Hotel to drop off passengers.
The Transport Department urged motorists to use airport car park’s drop-off area and advised travelers to allow for extra time to get to the airport, or take the Hong Kong Airport Express and buses instead.
Long lines formed at the departure hall’s check-in counters as the airport authorities made repeated announcements, urging travelers who had checked in to proceed to security to ease the congestion.
In addition, authorities received more than 700 reports of fallen trees across the city, with the Highways Department confirming all previously closed roads have reopened before Monday noon. However, some severe cases remain further removal, including a 10-meter-tall tree that was uprooted by strong winds in Sha Tin's Siu Lek Yuen Village, crushing three parked cars below.
READ MORE: Wipha lashes Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Observatory said while Wipha was less intense than Super Typhoon Saola, which struck the city in 2023, its hurricane-force winds had significantly affected multiple areas across the territory.
Lee Shuk-ming -- senior scientific Officer at the Observatory – said Wipha’s outer hurricane zone and rainbands had a comparable impact that continued to bring showers and squally thunderstorms on Monday.
As the storm gradually subsided, businesses and public transport networks, including Mass Transit Railway trains and buses, resumed operations on Sunday evening.
With Wipha moving across the Leizhou Peninsula towards Beibu Gulf, the Observatory said there will still be showers and squally thunderstorms in the next couple of days along the coast of Guangdong province due to the influence of the storm’s outer rainbands.
The weather is expected to improve over the region later this week, and it’ll be hot with sunny periods during the day.
Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com
