Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. expects to suspend flights starting Friday afternoon through Saturday morning in Hong Kong as Super Typhoon Saola nears the Asian financial hub, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Saola has the potential to be the strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong since Mangkhut battered the city five years ago. The storm earlier caused more than 69,000 people in the Philippines to evacuate and led to more than a dozen flight cancellations in Taiwan.

The local weather agency said it will raise the storm signal to No. 3, the second lowest level, by 5 p.m. on Thursday and may elevate the alert by one level on Friday to No. 8 — the threshold at which schools close and most public transportation is stopped.

The airline expects significant disruptions at Hong Kong International Airport from the storm and is working to keep aircraft out of the city for a period of time, according to information seen by Bloomberg.

Cathay couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.