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Hong Kong protests cost United Airlines USD90 million
United Airlines is taking a $90 million non-cash charge in its 2019 fourth quarter balance sheet due to the plunge in demand for Hong Kong travel.
The six month long protests have hit the carrier hard.
"Due to a decrease in demand for the Hong Kong market and the resulting decrease in unit revenue, the company determined that the value of its Hong Kong routes had been fully impaired," United said in a regulatory filing.
HKIA imposes tightly controlled slot management and airlines have to regularly assess the value of their slots.
Transit traffic at Hong Kong Airport, still one of East Asia’s major passenger and cargo hubs, has remained relatively steady but tourism and business travel arrivals have seen sharp declines.
Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in November fell 56%, and there was a 43% year-on-year decline from the U.S.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board expects arrivals totals to be down at least 14% for the full-year 2019, which completely wiped out double digit growth in the first half of the year.
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