While Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is making solid gains over 2023 passenger numbers, it is still languishing well behind 2019 levels and unlikely to make a full post-pandemic recovery until the middle of 2025. The airline group, which includes low-cost carrier HK Express, said it carried more than 21 million passengers in the nine months to September 30, 2024, around 20% fewer than the 26.9 million it carried in the same period of 2019.