Cathay cutting capacity to deal with high cost of fuel and fallout from US-Israel war on Iran

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific announced it was cutting capacity on some routes to deal with the fallout of the US-Israel war on Iran. The war has caused massive increases in jet fuel prices which is forcing Cathay and other airlines to cut capacity and fuel spending. VIEWPOINT: War – what is it good for? “Cutting back on capacity has always been our last resort,” Cathay said in a statement. “Regrettably, we have to consolidate a small number of Cathay Pacific passenger flights from 16 May 2026 to 30 June 2026, as well as a small number of HK Express passenger flights from 11 May 2026 to 30 June 2026, to mitigate part of the increased costs. For Cathay Pacific, around 2% of total frequencies during the period will be cancelled, involving mostly regional flights and a small number of Australia, South Asia and South Africa flights, the airline said. All affected customers will be offered protection onto flights departing within 24 hours of their originally scheduled flights. For HK Express, about 6% of total frequencies during the period will be cancelled, with nearly all affected customers offered protection onto flights departing within 24 hours of their originally scheduled flights. All affected customers will be notified of their updated flight details by Monday, 13 April 2026. The airline also said it would continue suspending Cathay Pacific’s Dubai and Riyadh passenger flights until 30 June 2026 in view of the ongoing situation in the Middle East. “We have endeavoured to minimise the impact to our customers as much as possible. These consolidation decisions are not taken lightly and we apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused,” Cathay said. The ongoing volatile situation in the Middle East continues to negatively impact the price of jet fuel, which has increased significantly since the beginning of March and remains at highly elevated levels. This is placing huge cost pressure on airlines around the world. Beyond June, Cathay Pacific and HK Express plan to operate all their scheduled passenger flights, subject to developments of the Middle East situation and jet fuel price in the coming months. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]