Cathay Pacific drastically reduces the number of long-haul flights due to restrictions on cabin crew.

In response to the new quarantine regulations implemented for flight crews, Cathay Pacific reduced the number of flights to Australia.

On February 10, 2021, when the Hong Kong government announced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for flight personnel, Cathay Pacific canceled all Australian flights except those to Sydney. Services to Vancouver (Canada), San Francisco (United States) and Frankfurt (Germany) have already been suspended.

Also, flights to Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Auckland will be suspended from February 20, 2021, the five weekly flights between Hong Kong and Sydney will be the only ones operated.

"Given the latest announcement by the Hong Kong SAR Government, starting February 20, 2021, pilots and cabin crew will have to be quarantined for 14 days at the hotel and another 7 days to be under medical supervision on their return to Hong Kong after flights ”, the airline confirmed in a statement.

On 15 January 2021, Emirates also announced the suspension of flights to Australia "until further notice" for "operational reasons". The airline later rectified the statement, saying it would resume flights to Australia in early April 2021.

In January 2021, in an effort to stop the new COVID-19 strains from entering the country, Australia set a weekly cap for international arrivals, with a limit of about 7.500 arrivals per week. This restricts airlines to carry only 30-50 passengers / aircraft.