Cathay Pacific passenger numbers recover

Cathay Pacific passenger numbers increased to 1.7 million passengers in December 2023, up 122.1% from a year prior. For the full year 2023, Cathay Group (Cathay Pacific and HK Express) carried more than 20 million passengers, up around 15% on 2022 numbers. “There was an overwhelming demand for travel to short-haul leisure destinations, with Japan and Southeast Asia being especially popular,” said Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau. December 2023 saw passengers from the Chinese mainland increase 375.5% versus December 2022. In the same period, North East Asia and South East Asia improved 106.5% and 104.4% respectively.