The largest airline in the Chinese Hong Kong SAR, Cathay Pacific, is again using the airspace of the Russian Federation. In March 2022, the decision was made to voluntarily fly detours. Carriers from Hong Kong and China are not banned by Russia.

According to a report by the agency "Bloomberg", Cathay Pacific wants to fly over Russia again in the winter flight schedule, initially on the Hong Kong-New York route. This should reduce both flight time and costs.

The airline voluntarily renounced the use of Russian airspace in the wake of the Russian Federation's military attack on Ukraine. Since both Hong Kong and China are not considered "unfriendly states," there is no ban from the Kremlin. Cathay Pacific wants to fly shorter routes again in the future, i.e. via Russia. The New York route is the first to be affected. There is still no reliable information about possible further flight routes.