Cathay Pacific drops 16 long-haul destinations

Hong Kong: Cathay Pacific has discontinued passenger services to 16 long-haul destinations from its Hong Kong hub over the past two decades, with several routes dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to reports.

The destinations were identified by comparing Cathay Pacific’s passenger network between January 2006 and July 2026 with services scheduled through May 2027. The review covers only long-haul routes from Hong Kong International Airport.

The most recent route to disappear is Cairns in Australia. Cathay Pacific resumed seasonal flights to Cairns in December 2024 but has no services to the destination scheduled for 2026 or 2027.

Other discontinued destinations include Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Karachi, Moscow, Doha, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Dublin, Bahrain, Cape Town, Malé, London Gatwick, Newark, Washington Dulles and Tel Aviv.

Nearly 40 percent of the cuts took place in 2020 as the pandemic prompted airlines to reassess networks and fleet deployment.

Cathay Pacific also ended services to Washington Dulles in 2020 after operating the route for less than two years. The service ran four times weekly between September 2018 and February 2020, using Airbus A350 aircraft.

Despite the cuts, the destinations remain accessible to Cathay passengers through its alliance and codeshare partners.