Cathay Pacific Route Revival in Europe after Five Years

Cathay Pacific announced on January 8, 2025, that it will expand its global network in 2025 by launching direct flights between Hong Kong and Rome. Thus, after recovering from the pandemic’s stress, Cathay Pacific restart flights to this European destination after 5 Years.

The planned Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) to Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) route will be Cathay Pacific’s second direct link between its home hub and Italy, and it will run on a three-times-weekly summer seasonal service starting on June 5, 2025.

Currently, the airline offers five weekly return flights to Milan-Malpensa (MXP); by the summer of 2025, that number will rise to daily.

HONG KONG—Cathay Pacific (CX) made its comeback to the Italian city on June 5, 2025, by launching a direct flight service between Hong Kong (HKG) and Rome (FCO).

In 2025, Cathay Pacific’s growing global network will gain a fourth destination with the launch of the new summer seasonal route.

Network Extension for Cathay Pacific

On June 5, Cathay Pacific started direct flights again between Hong Kong and Rome.

After the carrier’s five-times-weekly service to Milan, which will expand daily this summer, the route will be its second direct link between Hong Kong and Italy. It will operate thrice weekly as a summer seasonal service (5 June to 25 October).

In 1986, the Hong Kong airline began operating direct flights to Rome; however, flights were halted due to the pandemic in 2020. Business, premium economy, and economy cabins of Airbus A350-900 aircraft will be used for the reopened service on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Prior to today’s inauguration in Rome, the Hong Kong-based airline began passenger service to Hyderabad (HYD), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), and Urumqi (URC), as part of a systematic expansion of its operations throughout 2025.

At the same time, sister airline HK Express (UO) launched flights to six locations: Sendai, Nha Trang, Ishigaki, Komatsu, Changzhou, and Yiwu.

Executive Statement

Lavinia Lau, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer at Cathay, emphasized the significance of the location to the airline’s history.

“Today’s debut marks an important milestone in reestablishing Hong Kong’s connection with the Italian city, as the carrier began operations in Rome in 1986.”

Lau announced summertime openings in Munich and Brussels, confirming further ambitions for European development.

Flight Details

Cathay Pacific’s 30-strong fleet of Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which can carry 280 passengers in three classes (38 in business class, 28 in premium economy, and 214 in economy), will be used to run the airline’s new 5,778-mile (9,245-kilometer) service to Rome.

From June 5 to October 25, 2025, the new Rome service will run on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays on three weekly intervals.

On the journey, Cathay Pacific (CX) uses its fuel-efficient Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which has 214 economy class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 38 business class flat-bed seats.

• At 00:30 local time, flight CX293 leaves Hong Kong and lands at Rome (FCO) at 07:35.
• After departing Rome at 13:00, the return service, CX292, arrives in Hong Kong (HKG) at 06:30 the next day.

In 2025, six more cities will join the Cathay Group’s worldwide passenger network. This year, in addition to Rome, Cathay Pacific will begin direct flights to Hyderabad in March, Dallas in April, Munich in June, and Brussels in August.

Meanwhile, HK Express, the group’s low-cost airline, begins operating flights to Sendai in January. By 2025, the two airlines hope to provide passenger service to 100 locations throughout the globe.

The European Network

In a statement, Cathay Pacific said, “With innumerable monuments, landmarks, museums, and churches, visitors to Rome can look forward to exploring one of Europe’s most impressive historical and cultural centers.” As the Catholic Church commemorates the 2025 Year of Jubilee, Cathay Pacific’s return to the city is particularly welcome, offering visitors from Asia a simple way to reach the Italian capital.

Rome and Vatican City will hold a variety of ceremonies and events throughout the year to commemorate the Jubilee, which happens once every 25 years.

In addition to its daily Milan operations, Cathay Pacific now offers Rome as its second Italian destination.

With flights to Amsterdam (AMS), Barcelona (BCN), Frankfurt (FRA), London Heathrow (LHR), Madrid (MAD), Manchester (MAN), Paris (CDG), and Zurich (ZRH), the airline continues to have extensive coverage throughout Europe.

There will be about 100 weekly return flights to 12 European cities thanks to the enlarged network. Through Hong Kong’s hub, travelers from Europe can access the Cathay Group’s vast Asia-Pacific network.

With 22 destinations throughout Mainland China served by the combined Cathay Pacific (CX) and HK Express (UO) operations, Hong Kong is positioned as a key transcontinental travel hub.

Ambitious Development

The airline claims that Cathay Group is committed to expanding its global flight network and destinations while solidifying Hong Kong’s position as a major hub for international travel by 2025.

According to the airline, the Group has already named six cities that will join its worldwide passenger network in 2025, with more to follow “in due course.” London-Heathrow, Manchester, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Dublin, Copenhagen, Paris-CDG, Frankfurt, and Munich are among the destinations the airline will serve in the summer of 2025.

Throughout 2025, the Cathay Group intends to begin passenger service to 16 international locations; more announcements are planned.

Within the first half of 2025, the combined passenger network will reach 100 destinations globally, indicating the airline’s dedication to restoring its pre-pandemic route structure and growing its market share.

Cathay Pacific will also begin direct flights to Rome in March 2025, followed by Hyderabad in April, Dallas-Fort Worth in April, Munich in June 2025, and Brussels in August 2025. Later in January 2025, HK Express, a low-cost airline owned by the Cathay Group, would begin operating flights to Japan’s Sendai Airport (SDJ), competing with Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines. By the end of 2025, the two Cathay Group airlines anticipate operating passenger flights to 100 destinations throughout the globe.

Wrapping Up

Cathay Pacific restart flights to this European Destination after 5 Years delay, making it an exciting opportunity for travels to explore Italy, a vibrant city with ease. On June 5, 2025, the airline launched direct flights between Hong Kong and Rome, marking a significant comeback to the Italian city and the start of a new phase in Cathay Pacific’s European network expansion.

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