Updated on March 17:

***Cathay Pacific has also reinstated flight CX216 from Manchester to Hong Kong on March 19 and 20.***

Cathay Pacific has temporarily reinstated three return flights between London and Hong Kong, and increased capacity on select US routes for the upcoming Easter break.

Hong Kong’s flag carrier said it has decided to make these changes because it “understands that many Hong Kong students and citizens in North America and London are eager to come home as soon as possible and in time for the Easter break”.

Details are as follows:

Destination Flight No. Time Note
New York (JFK) CX845 March 19 Service reinstated
Boston (BOS) CX811 March 20 Service reinstated
Los Angeles (LAX) CX881 March 20-28 (except March 23) Larger aircraft
Seattle (SEA) CX857 March 21 Larger aircraft
San Francisco (SFO) CX893 March 16 Larger aircraft
CX879 March 18 Larger aircraft
London (LHR) CX250 March 17-21 Service reinstated
CX254 March 19 Service reinstated
CX255 (departing from Hong Kong) March 17-19 Service reinstated
CX256 March 18-20 Service reinstated
Manchester (MAN) CX216 March 19-20 Service reinstated

These additional seats are now available for booking on its website and through its Global Contact Centre.

Cathay said that with entry restrictions imposed on travellers by a number of governments in light of the evolving situation regarding the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), congestion at London Heathrow Airport is “highly likely, with longer queues expected at security and immigration”. Therefore, it suggests that passengers arrive three to four hours prior to their flight’s scheduled departure time.

On March 15, Hong Kong issued a red travel alert for Ireland, the UK and the US. Starting from March 19, people arriving in Hong Kong who have been to Ireland, the UK, the US and Egypt in the past 14 days, regardless of whether they are Hong Kong residents, will have to undergo a 14-day home quarantine.

Earlier, the Hong Kong government said those arriving in the city who had been to South Korea, Iran, Hokkaido in Japan and the Schengen Area in Europe for the past 14 days must also quarantine for 14 days. These measures remain unchanged.

The Hong Kong flag carrier previously said it expects “substantial” losses in the first half of 2020 and announced capacity cuts on several routes across its global network due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cathay now offers free and unlimited changes to all tickets issued between March 9 and April 20, as well as “relief points” for Marco Polo Club members in February, March and April 2020, based on members’ current tier.

cathaypacific.com