Budget carrier HK Express yesterday said it is extending the suspension of all flights until June 18.

The carrier, owned by Cathay Pacific and flies to multiple destinations in Asia, had previously suspended all services from March 23 until April 30 amid the cpandemic.

It said that the latest arrangement is again a response to the drop in travel demand due to the pandemic and sensuing travel curbs.

The carrier said it will provide flexible options to customers whose plans have been affected by the latest arrangements.

"In addition to the options of changing their travel date, travel route or receiving a full refund, affected customers can also opt for a full refund in the form of credit vouchers for future purchases on HK Express," a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific yesterday announced it will also allow customers to rearrange travel plans flexibly until June 30.

The move will include free-of-charge rebooking, rerouting, and booking their next trips, with the ability to change travel dates and pick an entirely new destination as many times as possible within a year.

"You can easily adjust your book using [the online booking system] up to June 30," Cathay said in a statement.

"After then, simply call your local reservations office to make any further changes up until you fly. Your trip must be completed within one year of your original ticket issuance date."

The airline acknowledged that customers who booked before March 9 will also be able to adjust their bookings, but additional fees may be charged.

The company announced on March 20 that it will only operate 4 percent of its scheduled flights in April and May, as its budget carrier HK Express announced the five-week suspension of flights earlier.

This is the steepest cut to flights made by Cathay Pacific, with about 150 of 236 planes grounded earlier.

Meanwhile, Princess Cruises, a cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation, yesterday said it will cancel all cruise trips until June 30 and both cruise tours and land and sea cruise tours to the Gulf of Alaska.

However, cruises under the company, such as the Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess, will continue providing round-trip cruises from Seattle to Alaska.

The cruise line also said that five holiday cottages, sightseeing trains and buses it operates will not be opened to the public this summer.

The Tourism Board yesterday said that tourist numbers fell by 99 percent to 82,000 last month amid the pandemic, compared with the same period in 2019.

Before mid-March, average daily arrivals were about 3,000 to 4,000.

Since March 19, when non-Hong Kong residents arriving in Hong Kong began undergoing compulsory quarantine, the number of average daily visitors fell to about 1,000.

HK Express aims for June flights