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Hong Kong aviation
Hong KongTransport

India-Pakistan tensions having an impact on air travel as flights to and from Hong Kong are diverted

  • Cathay Pacific says it has re-routed its Hong Kong-Dubai service south of Pakistan after Islamabad closed its airspace
  • Flights to and from Europe and the Middle East may also be affected

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Cathay Pacific said on Thursday its daily Hong Kong-Dubai service had to be diverted south, resulting in minor delays to arrivals. Photo: Winson Wong
Ernest Kao

Diplomatic tensions on the Indian subcontinent have had a knock-on effect on air travel, with at least one flight servicing Hong Kong affected by the recent closure of Pakistan’s airspace.

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Cathay Pacific said on Thursday its daily Hong Kong-Dubai service had to be diverted south, resulting in minor delays to arrivals.

“Our passenger services between Hong Kong and Dubai have been adjusted to operate south of Pakistan airspace. This results in an additional five to 10 minutes’ flight time,” a spokesman said. None of its other services are routed through Pakistan’s airspace.

The carrier also said rebooking and re-routing charges would be waived for all tickets issued worldwide on or before the closure of airspace in northern India for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights to and from New Delhi between Wednesday and Thursday.

On Wednesday, Pakistan announced that it would shut its airspace until further notice amid simmering tensions with its neighbour.

Events began to escalate after Pakistan on Wednesday shot down two Indian military jets it said had crossed the Line of Control – the de facto border dividing the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region – and captured a pilot. This was a day after Indian warplanes – in what is believed to be its first attack inside Pakistan since the two fought a war in 1971 – strafed militants at a training base in Pakistan. The militants were believed to be responsible for killing 40 Indian paramilitary troops in Kashmir two weeks ago.
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