Hong Kong continues to take stiff measures to control the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, temporarily banning passenger flights from eight countries.

New travel restrictions introduced by the Indian state of West Bengal will dramatically cut airline capacity on one of the busiest domestic routes in the country.

But industry is optimistic that a step-change increase in demand and a return to profitability can be achieved by midyear.

The global airline industry’s long drawn-out recovery from the COVID-19 crisis is now being hindered by the omicron coronavirus variant but how much of an impact it will have during the first quarter remains unclear.

Cathay Pacific said it will fly a “skeleton passenger flight schedule” in January and has cancelled all cargo flights through at least Jan. 6 due to new regulations in Hong Kong.

The air cargo sector faces capacity pressure as it continues to transport COVID-19 vaccines around the world.

Chinese authorities' efforts to maintain the country's zero-COVID policy during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has been complicated after omicron cases were detected in two cities on Dec. 14.

Air France-KLM Group has paid back €500 million ($566 million) of the €4 billion loan guarantees provided by the French government during the COVID-19 crisis and said discussions on further capital strengthening measures are taking place at the group level.