Cathay Pacific redirects capacity to London as Middle East services are suspended

Cathay Pacific has suspended flights to the Middle East amid the “volatile” situation in the region.

Extra capacity is being provided to London as services between the airline’s Hong Kong hub and Dubai and Riyadh are dropped until April 30.

Cathay chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: “The global geopolitical environment is volatile and this is causing unexpected shifts in passenger and cargo traffic flows as well as a significant increase in the price of jet fuel.

"In view of the current situation in the Middle East, we have temporarily suspended Cathay Pacific’s passenger flights as well as Cathay Cargo’s freighter services to Dubai and Riyadh up to and including 30 April 2026. 

“As customers prioritise alternative travel routes due to airspace closures in the Middle East, we have added extra flights to London and provided additional capacity to Zurich in March to cater for a surge in demand for Europe.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and will remain agile in our response.”

The change due to the Iran war follows what she described as an “encouraging” start to the year for Cathay Group with “solid momentum” seen in January continuing into February. 

A new single-day passenger record was set on February 14 with around 128,000 passengers flown.

Cathay Pacific and regional arm HK Express together carried more than 3.2 million passengers in February, up 24% from the same period last year.

Referring to Cathay Pacific, Lau : “Looking ahead, bookings remain robust for the rest of March, driven by leisure travel across Asia. 

“We also look forward to launching our new five-times-weekly Seattle service on 30 March, further strengthening the connectivity of the Hong Kong international aviation hub.” ​