Cathay Pacific has published its latest transit policy dated May 30. Passengers flying Cathay Pacific can connect in Hong Kong onward to other countries, but cannot transfer onward to Mainland China.

Transit requirements

Starting June 1, 2020, Hong Kong International Airport will gradually resume transit services in phases. Passengers traveling on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon will be able to transit via Hong Kong under the following conditions:

  • Their itinerary is included in a single booking, and
  • The connection time before their next Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon operated flight is within 8 hours.

    Provided both of the above requirements are met, starting June 1, 2020, we will offer transit services between Hong Kong and destinations served by our operating flights.

Transit restrictions

  • At this initial stage, transit services to or from destinations in Mainland China will not be available.
  • All sea-air intermodal services (Greater Bay Area to Hong Kong) and air-sea ferry services (Hong Kong to the Greater Bay Area) remain suspended.

Hong Kong International Airport suspended all transit services starting March 25, which made it impossible to return to China via a connection in Hong Kong. But today (Hong Kong time, May 26), Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on a Radio Television Hong Kong program that transit services would be partially restored on June 1.

For now, we do not know exactly what “partial” means. Because Hong Kong is part of China, the “Five One” policy does not apply. At present, there are relatively more flights from Hong Kong to the Mainland, with multiple flights each day to Beijing and Shanghai. This is good news for students hoping to return to China.

In addition, the high-speed ferry service from Hong Kong International Airport to the Mainland is unlikely to resume, as there is no operating experience for the service under pandemic conditions. So returning to the Mainland by ferry may still not be feasible.