Airlines brace for worst as super typhoon heads for Hong Kong

[TOKYO] Prepare to be frustrated at the airport if you're in Asia this weekend.

Airlines across the region cancelled more than 100 flights on Saturday as Super Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into the Philippines and was set to disrupt travel from Hong Kong to Japan.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said in a statement it's canceling all flights in and out of Hong Kong on Sunday beginning at 2.30am, and wouldn't resume operations until 4am the following day. Cathay Dragon also won't be flying.

AirAsia Group Bhd had canceled at least 22 flights as of Saturday morning, upsetting travelers from Manila to Shenzhen and Macau, according to a Facebook post. Philippines Airlines Inc scrapped 41 Saturday flights, including those to Hangzhou and Tokyo, it said on Facebook.

It'll almost certainly get worse. Mangkhut, which is being called the world's most powerful storm this year, ripped into the northern Philippines on Saturday as a Category 5 storm, bringing winds of up to 269 kilometres (167 miles) per hour.

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