Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi / Getty Images
Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific plans to change the route of the flight from New York to Hong Kong so that the planes follow bypassing Russian airspace, reports Bloomberg with reference to company documents. Typically, Cathay Pacific aircraft flew through the Arctic, entering Russian airspace.
Following the changes, the airline will fly from New York across the Atlantic Ocean, the UK, Southern Europe and Central Asia, according to a memo to Cathay Pacific flight personnel seen by Bloomberg. Airbus A-350-1000 aircraft, which the airline plans to use, will cover a distance of 16,618 km in about 16-17 hours. The last Cathay flight from New York to Hong Kong made a stop in Los Angeles, after which it continued its journey over the Pacific Ocean, bypassing Russian airspace, the agency specifies.
If the airline launches a non-stop flight to Hong Kong, it will become the longest commercial flight in the world, removing that title from Singapore Airlines Ltd., which now takes about 17.5 hours to cover 15,349 km from Singapore to New York, writes the agency with reference to FlightRadar data.
Singapore Airlines first performed the longest non-stop commercial flight in the world on October 12, 2018, covering 16,700 km over the Pacific Ocean, Canada and the United States on the way from Singapore to New York in 17 hours and 25 minutes. The flight was carried out by a passenger Airbus A-350-900 of Ultra Long Range (ULR) modification. Flight times on ultra long haul flights may vary due to wind and other weather conditions, as well as the direction of flight (from Singapore to New York or vice versa).