Hong Kong flights to Barcelona, Chicago, Chennai, Adelaide and more the direct international air

Here is a round-up of the international destinations for which direct flights to and from Hong Kong have yet to be restored or are still limited.

1. Japan

Easily the most popular overseas destination for Hong Kong travellers, Japan has seen an influx of tourists since March, when Tokyo lifted its restriction on the maximum number of flights that could operate between the country and Hong Kong.

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Cathay Pacific and its wholly owned low-cost subsidiary Hong Kong Express currently run flights between Hong Kong and tourist hotspots such as Tokyo (Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport), Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya.

Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines additionally serve Sapporo in Hokkaido.

However, if you are hoping to visit somewhere a little off the beaten track, say Hiroshima or Ishigaki Island, you will have to wait until late October for nonstop flights from Hong Kong to resume.

Ishigaki – a subtropical holiday island usually only two hours away from Hong Kong that acts as a gateway to the Yaeyama Islands – will not be accommodating international flights until October 29, according to Hong Kong Express. Pre-pandemic, international flights served Ishigaki from Hong Kong and Taipei.

2. South Korea

In early January 2023, the South Korean government mandated that all flights arriving from Hong Kong had to land at Incheon International Airport, for centralised Covid-19 prevention and control.

The regulation was scrapped in March, and those who had been waiting to travel to Jeju Island, a Unesco heritage site and holiday hotspot, or Busan, a port city and cultural centre, also known for its beaches, could rejoice.

Hong Kong Express resumed nonstop flights to both destinations, and remains the only carrier to operate these links at the time of publishing.

The airline is running flights from Hong Kong to Jeju three days a week, and to Busan four days a week; flights to (but not from) these two destinations are largely sold out for July, although availability will increase from August.

Air Busan has not yet revived its direct connection between the Korean city and Hong Kong, but is currently offering direct flights from Macau to Busan.

3. Thailand

There are certainly some great options for those looking for a tropical escape in Thailand, but flights to several destinations have yet to resume or have only just resumed.

Numerous airlines including Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Hong Kong Express, Emirates and Thai Airways are covering the popular Hong Kong-Bangkok route. There is no shortage of flights to Phuket, either, with the three aforementioned Hong Kong-based airlines and Thai AirAsia offering nonstop services to the island.

After a long wait, the nonstop route between Hong Kong and Koh Samui resumed on July 1, with Bangkok Airways offering flights three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. But those hoping to fly to Chiang Rai are still out of luck, as there are no plans to resume services on that route, which were previously operated by Hong Kong Express.

4. North America

Through much of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cathay Pacific continued to operate long-haul flights to several United States cities. As of July, the carrier is flying to four US destinations – New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston – but other routes have been lost in the fray.

These include those to Chicago and Seattle, to which Cathay Pacific used to operate near-daily flights from Hong Kong. Now your best bet to reach either city is to transit via one of the four aforementioned hubs. The same is true if you are hoping to visit southern cities such as Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.

Routes from Hong Kong to Canadian cities Toronto and Vancouver were restored some time ago.

5. Other destinations

Nonstop flights to European cities such as London, Manchester, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Madrid are back on the schedules, but if you’re heading to Rome, Copenhagen or Barcelona and want to get there without a change, you’re still out of luck.

For Australia, Cathay Pacific has resumed flights to Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, and Qantas has also resumed service on the Melbourne-Hong Kong and Sydney-Hong Kong routes. Missing from the list thus far is Adelaide, for which there used to be daily flights to and from Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific has resumed flights from Hong Kong to the Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, but has yet to resume its daily flights to Chennai or revive services to Kolkata.

Nonstop flights to Dubai (Emirates, Cathay Pacific) and Doha (Qatar Airways) have resumed, but there are no scheduled direct flights yet between Hong Kong and Riyadh.

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