The UK carrier has confirmed today (October 5) that it will not resume flights to Hong Kong – having served the city for nearly three decades.
The news came from a bulletin posted by Virgin Atlantic confirming it would suspend the London/Heathrow to Hong Kong link following “careful consideration”. As a result, the firm added its Hong Kong office will also close.
It cited “significant operational complexities” owing to the closure of Russian airspace – which typically require longer routes – especially on Europe-Asia flights.
While Virgin Atlantic had paused its scheduled Hong Kong service since December of last year, the Crawley-based carrier was due to resume rotations to the Asian hub in March 2023.
However, with the service now cancelled, the airline says all affected customers who planned to travel can amend their flights with no change fees – or request a refund.
Virgin Atlantic first arrived at Hong Kong in 1994 via the city’s famous, and since closed, Kai Tak gateway. It frequently rostered its fleet of Airbus A340-300 quad-jets on the link. In more recent times, the airline served Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport using A350-1000s and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
The move leaves British Airways as the only UK passenger airline serving the Chinese special administrative region.
