Cathay reroutes flights to avoid Russian airspace

Cathay Pacific on Thursday confirmed it has stopped flying over Russian airspace, amid the country’s assault on Ukraine.

In a brief statement to RTHK, the Hong Kong carrier said: “We regularly review our flight routings internally and also with information provided by external parties.”

“We are currently not flying through Russian airspace.”

According to tracking website FlightRadar24, flight CX255 to London Heathrow on Wednesday adopted a different route, flying over mainland China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands.

The new route increased flight time by about two hours to around 14 hours and 30 minutes.

CX289 to Frankfurt that departed on Thursday also adopted the same route, although it was still flying through Russian airspace on March 13.

“Russia is a huge, huge country. Avoiding the Russian airspace can add up to six hours of travel time,” said Achim Czerny, from Polytechnic University’s Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies.

“This is inconvenient for airlines and the environment because, amongst other things, it increases fuel cost. Longer flight times and extra stops are also very inconvenient for passengers.”

Other major airlines in Asia, such as Japan Airlines and Korean Air, have also avoided flying over Russian airspace after Moscow began a “special military operation” on its neighbour last month.
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Last updated: 2022-03-17 HKT 22:07