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Cathay Pacific plans world’s longest passenger flight, avoiding Russia

Airline could set distance record by rerouting its New York to Hong Kong service over the Atlantic instead of the Pacific, covering more than 16,600km

Cathay Pacific plane
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific is planning the world’s longest passenger flight by distance, avoiding Russia. Photograph: Dale de la Rey/AFP/Getty Images
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific is planning the world’s longest passenger flight by distance, avoiding Russia. Photograph: Dale de la Rey/AFP/Getty Images

Cathay Pacific is planning the world’s longest passenger flight by rerouting its New York to Hong Kong service over the Atlantic, the airline has said, in a new path that steers clear of Russia.

The flight path will cover “just under 9,000 nautical miles” (16,668km, or 10,357 miles) in 16 to 17 hours, Cathay said in a statement to Agence France-Presse.

On Tuesday evening, Cathay listed on its website a New York-to-Hong Kong flight for 3 April – a non-stop journey it said would stay in the air for 17 hours and 50 minutes.

It will surpass a Singapore Airlines flight travelling from the south-east Asian city-state to New York, which flies a shorter distance in a longer time – about 15,343km (9,534 miles) in 18 hours.

Cathay declined to be drawn on the reasons for its flight path giving a wide berth to Russia’s airspace, through which it has previously flown, according to Bloomberg.

Many airlines have cancelled routes to Russian cities or are avoiding its airspace over Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine last month.

Russia also closed its skies last month to several European countries and all UK-linked flights in a tit-for-tat response to a similar ban placed on them.

Cathay is seeking an overflight permit for the journey, which will fly across the Atlantic, Europe and Central Asia.

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“We are always running contingency routings for potential events or scenarios within the world of aviation,” Hong Kong’s flagship carrier said on Tuesday.

Pre-pandemic, Cathay operated three round trips between the two cities every day.

Flights to Hong Kong now face frequent cancellations due to the financial hub’s strict anti-Covid measures, as well as a lack of passengers.

Starting 1 April, flights from the US and eight other countries will be allowed to land in Hong Kong again, as the government relaxes some of the world’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions.

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