Cathay Pacific Resumes Milan-Hong Kong Flights

DALLAS - On Saturday, October 8, Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) flight CX234 took off from Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) bound for Hong Kong (HKG), re-establishing the only direct connection between Italy and the main hub in the east after more than two and a half years.

The restart of the nonstop route marks another step toward the full resumption of the Hong Kong-based airline's operations in Europe, which were halted in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now gradually being restored, thanks in part to the gradual relaxation of regulations for travel to the East.

The improved links from Europe will also boost access to the other locations served by CX's network in the Asia Pacific, including China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Australia, via Hong Kong.

The 11-hour, 9,374 km HKG flights from Italy will be operated by Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, the flagship of the carrier's fleet, which has increased its efforts in recent years to provide passengers with a greater flying experience within the boundaries of increasingly sustainable aviation.

To emphasize the significance of the occasion, a delegation representing CX management, including Ronald Lam, Chief Customer, and Commercial Officer, and Kinto Chan, General Manager of Europe, personally welcomed the flight's 334 passengers on board, along with Andrea Tucci, Vice President Aviation Business Development of SEA Aeroporti Milano, to commemorate the return of a critical connection for business and leisure traffic departing and transiting from Milan's intercity terminal.

Comments from Cathay Pacific, Malpensa Officials

"Today is a great day for the business community and for international tourism.  After more than two years we are returning to offer a direct connection between Milan, the most important city for trade and business in Italy and gateway to the incredible artistic, cultural and scenic heritage of the country, and Hong Kong, Asia's primary financial and tourism hub: the strategic importance of this axis is evident in both directions" - said Ronald Lam, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer of Cathay Pacific.

With satisfaction we welcome Cathay back to Malpensa," says Andrea Tucci, Vice President Aviation Business Development at SEA. The carrier's decision to restart connections to Italy, as soon as regulatory and business conditions allowed, and the decision to focus on Malpensa as a priority to reactivate connections from Italy on its network, confirms the strategic role of our infrastructure in particular for long-haul connections.

Tucci added, "Currently the traffic recovery at our airport is 97 percent of pre-Covid thanks to the contribution of 75 airlines on a network of 190 destinations, in particular, the overall recovery on long haul expected for Winter is 88 percent, further confirming the importance of our infrastructure for the air transport industry."

Featured image: Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000. Photo: Noah Pitkin/Airways