Cathay Pacific suspends cargo flights due to virus controls

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airlines is suspending cargo flights for a week due to stricter quarantine requirements for air crews, potentially adding to strain on global supply chains. The airline says long-haul flights to Europe, across the Pacific and to Riyadh and Dubai are suspended through Jan. 6. On Friday, Hong Kong confirmed the first cases of community transmission of the omicron variant tied to a Cathay Pacific crew who had returned from the U.S. The airline’s workforce is stretched thin after the quarantine for returning crews was extended to one week in a hotel room from three days. Cathay said earlier it would reduce its schedule of passenger flights in the first three months of 2022 due to staff shortages.