20220408 Clipped wings ground high-flying image

SAR knocked off aviation pedestal (基地)
使（某人）威信掃地
IATA轟港防控過嚴 國際航空樞紐不再

knock sb off = to murder sb

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says Hong Kong has ceased  = to stop to function as an international aviation hub as it curbs = to control inbound flights and quarantines arrivals, sending Cathay Pacific's shares down 2.6 percent.

"It's effectively off the map now 已從航班地圖上消失and I think it's going to be difficult for Hong Kong to recover," said Willie Walsh, director-general of IATA. "It's going to lag significantly behind the recovery that we're seeing elsewhere and has led to a tough time for all airlines operating there.香港的復甦步伐嚴重落後其他國家或地區，導致在港營運的航空企業遭逢艱苦時刻"

20220408 Clipped wings ground high-flying = extremely successful image

Could Hong Kong - once one of the world's busiest aviation hubs - really lose its prestigious position due to its extreme Covid quarantine actions that have decimated = to kill inbound passenger flights?

In the opinion of International Air Transport Association director-general Willie Walsh, this has already occurred.

As far as passenger figures are concerned, Walsh may be correct as passenger throughput = 生產率 = 旅客吞吐量 at Chek Lap Kok airport has been lagging way behind others that have begun opening up not only to fellow nationals同胞 but also international travelers.

That being said, cargo throughput has been better.

Last year, the airport saw its cargo volumes increase by a double-digit percentage to reach five million tonnes - even higher than the 4.8 million tonnes in 2019 before the pandemic.

Along with the increase in cargo volumes was a surge in cargo flights that reached an all-time =前所未有的 = is the highest high of almost 83,000 sorties during the period, with a number of the extra flights converted from passenger ones.

Clearly, the SAR and its new administration to be headed by John Lee Ka-chiu face a mixed situation.

Unless除非 aviation traffic is able to return to normal for passengers, the city cannot truly claim to be an international aviation hub by merely僅僅 handling more cargo.

The warning by IATA may be dire = very extreme and unpleasant but it is timely, serving as a caution for policymakers here and across the border in the north.

In particular, IATA pointed to the so-called circuit-breaker 斷路器 mechanism 溶斷機制 that, according to the association, has already slapped week-long bans on a number of airlines - namely Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways, Korean Air Lines and Malaysia Airlines - since a blanket ban一攬子禁令 on flights from nine countries including the US, UK and Australia was lifted on April 1.

The week-long一周長的 bans were imposed after some passengers tested positive to Covid upon landing here.

It is only to be expected that, as the gap in Covid tolerance continues to widen between the SAR and the rest of the world, incidents of arriving passengers testing positive will occur more often and airlines will continue to face increased uncertainty of flying to Hong Kong.

Maybe it's only a matter of time before aviation eventually returns to normal, but the problem facing Hong Kong is the increased urgency for it to unclip its wings.

If Hong Kong is waiting for the pandemic to disappear, other places are not.

Once the wings have been damaged, it will require twice the effort to spread them to fly as high as before.

Although IATA's comments may be an overstatement, its concern is valid and bodes ill for the newly expanded Chek Lap Kok airport, where flight tests have been underway to certify the third runway before it becomes operational later this year.

Lying ahead of the future Lee administration are not only questions of national security and the pandemic but also an urgent need to pre-empt預先制止 post-pandemic economic doldrums不確定因素 / 停滯.