Severe Typhoon Champi forced the cancellation of more than 70 flights between Hong Kong International Airport and Taiwan on Friday 23 October 2026, with further cuts on some Japan services as the storm closed in on Taiwan.
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.
So, Cathay Pacific has pushed the cancellation of its Hong Kong–Dubai and Hong Kong–Riyadh passenger flights out again, this time through 31 January 2027. That is a fair bit longer than the previous targets that were floating around for late October and November, and it is another reminder that this Middle East pause is not a short blip.
