Super Typhoon Champi — Hong Kong flights to Taiwan and Japan disrupted (HKIA open, no local TC signal)

Super Typhoon Champi (薔琵) has been one of the stronger Pacific storms of 2026, but it is not bringing a Hong Kong signal ladder to Chek Lap Kok. As of late evening Thursday 22 October, the Hong Kong Observatory had Champi centred about 1.120 km east of Hong Kong (Severe Typhoon, ~175 km/h near centre at 20:00 HKT), forecast to move toward the seas east of Taiwan. Locally the weather is fine, hot and very dry — no Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 1 or above is in force for Hong Kong.

What is actually disrupted

Hong Kong carriers are cutting and shifting flights that go into Champi’s path — mainly Taiwan and Okinawa — while Hong Kong International Airport continues normal local operations. That is the useful distinction for anyone looking at their app tonight: if you are flying HKG–Europe or HKG–Southeast Asia tomorrow, this storm is mostly noise; if you are booked to Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung or Okinawa over the next couple of days, assume your flight may move and check before you leave for the airport.

HK Express (UO) — for Friday 23 October the airline has cancelled ten Taiwan flights and postponed four more to Saturday 24 October. Cancelled: UO112/113/114/115/116/117 (Hong Kong–Taipei), UO172/173 (Hong Kong–Taichung), UO134/135 (Hong Kong–Kaohsiung). Postponed to 24 October: UO182/183 (Taichung) and UO136/133 (Kaohsiung). Affected passengers are being emailed; free changes or refunds are on offer via the airline’s special arrangements page.

Hong Kong Airlines (HX) — HX658/HX659 Hong Kong–Okinawa on Thursday 22 October were cancelled. For Friday 23 October the carrier has also listed cancellations on the Taipei run (HX252/253, HX254/255, HX282/283). HX has waived rebooking / destination-change / refund fees for confirmed tickets under its special ticketing arrangements, and has flagged that Taipei and related services may still be delayed or cancelled through Saturday. It has also noted that Hong Kong–Shanghai Pudong was still operating as of Thursday morning, but that 24–25 October on that route could see delays or cancellations as Champi tracks north.

Cathay Pacific (CX) — rather than a blanket cancellation list at the time of writing, Cathay published flexible ticket conditions for Taipei (TPE): tickets issued on/before 21 October for original travel on 23–24 October can be changed without rebooking/rerouting charges (fare/tax differences still apply), change must be made before 24 October, and new travel completed by 31 December 2026. Ticket number must start with 160. If a flight is cancelled, Cathay says it will rebook onto the first available service. Details: Cathay’s Champi Taipei notice.

Greater Bay Airlines said operations were normal as of Thursday while it monitors Taipei and Okinawa, with individual flights possibly adjusted as the storm closes in — check before you travel.

HKO snapshot (evening 22 Oct)

Champi peaked as a Super Typhoon earlier in the week (around 250 km/h near centre) and had weakened to Severe Typhoon strength by 20:00 HKT on the 22nd. Track: toward seas east of Taiwan today and tomorrow, then a higher chance of turning north across the East China Sea toward Kyushu / Korea, still with a chance of skirting the Taiwan and Zhejiang coasts. Hong Kong’s own forecast for tonight and Friday is fine, hot and very dry (about 25–32°C) under a dry continental airstream — again, no local TC signal.

Taiwan has already cancelled well over a hundred flights on Thursday as land warnings went up; that is why so much of the Hong Kong-side pain is on the Taiwan city-pairs rather than a blanket HKIA closure.

Practical checklist

1. Check your airline’s flight status and any SMS/email before leaving for HKIA — lists are still moving.
2. Prefer the airline app / live chat / social channels over phone queues if you need a rebooking.
3. Keep an eye on HKO tropical cyclone pages and your carrier’s special-arrangements page (UO, HX, CX links above).
4. If your itinerary is not Taiwan/Okinawa/east China coast, treat Champi as a distant storm unless your airline says otherwise.

I will update this post if HKIA or CAD issue a broader ops notice, or if a Hong Kong TC signal is hoisted — neither is the case as of this writing (late evening 22 October 2026).

Sources: Hong Kong Observatory tropical cyclone position (updated 21:39 HKT 22 Oct); HKO local forecast; HK Express schedule notice (22 Oct); Hong Kong Airlines cancellation notices; Cathay Pacific flexible ticket conditions for Taipei (updated 21 Oct 14:20 HKT); SCMP / DotDotNews / The Standard reporting on carrier announcements. Flight lists change — always verify with the airline.