HONG KONG — Cathay Pacific has announced that it would resume using Russian airspace on some flights due to strong headwinds and payload issues affecting its flights from the East Coast of North America to Hong Kong.
The airline will begin flying from New York to Hong Kong using the popular "Polar route" from November 1st.
Cathay said in March that it rerouted flights away from Russian airspace. Resuming its use will slash some flight times and save money on fuel costs, but the airline has to pay an overflight fee per trip to Russian authorities for the right to fly over Siberia.
"There are other major airlines overflying Russian airspace, and there are no sanctions which prevent Cathay Pacific from overflying Russia," Cathay said in the statement.
"The Polar Route provides a safe, direct, and fastest flight experience to our customers traveling from the East Coast of North America to Hong Kong."