Cathay Pacific’s August passengers down 11% on 2018

HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific announced Wednesday its August passenger numbers were down 11.3 percent on last year after the troubled airline faced a backlash from Beijing over Hong Kong’s heated pro-democracy protests.

The airline, which is based in the financial hub, has had a torrid few weeks after Chinese state media and authorities blasted the company because some of its 27,000 employees had taken part in – or were sympathetic to – anti-government protesters.

“August was an incredibly challenging month, both for Cathay Pacific and for Hong Kong,” Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam said in a statement.