Cathay Pacific Extends Dubai & Riyadh Suspension to January 31, 2027 — Third Postponement Since Iran War Began — Hong Kong to Gulf Disconnected for 10+ Months — Full Rebooking, Refund & Alternative Routing Guide for UK, Australian & Canadian Passengers

Cathay Pacific first flew to the Middle East in November 1976. For fifty years, the Hong Kong flag carrier maintained an unbroken presence in Dubai and Riyadh. That presence has now been suspended for more than ten months — and as of Monday’s announcement, it will remain suspended for at least four more. This is the third time in 2026 that Cathay has extended the deadline. Each time, the date moves further. This time, it reaches January 31, 2027.

Cathay Pacific flights to Dubai and Riyadh will remain suspended until January amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the airline has announced. In a press statement on Monday, Cathay Pacific said flights to the cities up to January 31, 2027, would be cancelled.

The Hong Kong flag carrier first halted flights to Dubai and Riyadh in March, after the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran and killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The region has seen conflict since, with Iran retaliating with attacks across the Middle East.

This is the third postponement of the suspension:

• March 2026: Initial suspension announced — Dubai and Riyadh passenger flights suspended until June 30
• April 2026: First extension — suspension extended until August 31
• September 4, 2026: Second extension — suspension extended until November 30
• September 28, 2026 (Monday): Third extension — suspension extended to January 31, 2027

Affected travellers will be offered the flexibility to rebook, divert or refund their tickets. We will closely monitor the evolving situation in the Middle East.

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Published: September 29, 2026
Announcement date: Monday, September 28, 2026
Previous deadline: November 30, 2026
New deadline: January 31, 2027
Extension duration: Two additional months
Routes suspended: Hong Kong (HKG) ↔ Dubai (DXB) · Hong Kong (HKG) ↔ Riyadh (RUH)
Pre-suspension frequency: Daily to Dubai · Thrice-weekly to Riyadh (A350-900)
Number of extensions: Third in 2026
Conflict trigger: US-Israel military strikes on Iran, March 2026 — killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei
Confirmed by: SCMP · Hong Kong Free Press · Arabian Business · The Standard HK · TravelsDubai · Travel and Tour World · Nomad Lawyer · Financial Chronicle · AGB Brief
Waiver ticket issuance deadline: On or before September 28, 2026
Eligible departure window: September 28, 2026 – March 31, 2027
Change deadline: March 31, 2027
Travel completion deadline: May 31, 2027
Doha: Separate waiver — Cathay Pacific ticketing + Cathay-marketed flights
Freighter services: Under separate review — may resume independently of passenger services
Cathay Middle East history: Flying since November 1976 — this is the longest suspension of those routes in 50 years
Capacity redeployed to: Manchester + Rome (added extra flights in March/April 2026 during initial surge)

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The Route That Has Now Been Dark for Ten Months

To understand what this suspension means, it helps to understand what these routes were.

Hong Kong–Dubai was one of Cathay Pacific’s most commercially important long-haul routes. Cathay Pacific operates daily flights between Hong Kong and Dubai, and has operated to the Middle East continuously since November 1976. Dubai is one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs, handling 31.5 million passengers in the first half of 2026 alone. For Cathay, Hong Kong–Dubai was not merely a point-to-point leisure route — it was a commercial corridor connecting:

• Hong Kong and mainland China outbound travellers visiting Dubai for business, tourism, and shopping
• Middle East residents connecting via Hong Kong to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and mainland China
• Australian and UK travellers using the CX network via Hong Kong to reach Dubai and the wider Gulf as an alternative to direct services

The Hong Kong–Riyadh route was similarly strategic. Cathay Pacific’s thrice-weekly passenger service between Hong Kong and Riyadh is operated by its modern Airbus A350-900 aircraft, featuring Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins. For the Saudi Arabian market, this represented a direct connection to Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s financial hub and the gateway to the Chinese mainland.

The suspension removes direct non-stop capacity connecting Hong Kong International Airport with Dubai International (DXB) and King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh throughout the high-demand winter corporate and holiday season — historically one of the strongest periods for both routes.

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Why This Extension Matters More Than the Previous Two

Each of Cathay’s three extensions has followed the same pattern: a deadline approaches, the Middle East situation has not sufficiently stabilised to justify restarting long-haul passenger flights over the conflict zone, and the deadline moves forward by two to three months.

But the September 28 extension is qualitatively different from the previous two.

The winter season impact: The previous extensions affected spring and summer travel — periods when alternative routing via Europe or Southeast Asia is more feasible and less disruptive to booking patterns. The January 31, 2027 deadline now covers the peak winter travel window — November, December, January — when demand for Hong Kong–Dubai and Hong Kong–Riyadh is at its annual high, driven by Christmas holiday travel, Chinese New Year pre-booking, Saudi winter business travel, and the Dubai Expo-legacy tourism surge.

The “no confirmed restart” signal: Airline schedules beyond that date remain subject to further operational decisions. Cathay’s September 28 notice does not provide a confirmed restart date for either route. This is notably different from how the earlier extensions were framed — when the airline was still expressing expectation of an eventual near-term resumption. The absence of a restart date signals that Cathay is no longer treating January 31 as a likely restart point, but as a minimum suspension duration.

The connection to EASA: On September 26, EASA extended its Conflict Zone Information Bulletin covering Gulf airspace to April 24, 2027 — seven months beyond the September 30 date that had been anticipated as a review point. Cathay’s January 31 deadline may itself move to April or later if EASA does not signal a reopening of the Gulf airspace risk assessment. Every airline that has structured its suspension around regulatory safety bulletins is now looking at an early-to-mid 2027 horizon.

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The Complete Cathay Pacific Middle East Suspension Timeline — 2026

The fourth extension — if it follows the same pattern — could move the deadline to March or April 2027, aligning with the EASA bulletin’s current end date.

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What Cathay Did With the Displaced Capacity

When Cathay first suspended its Middle East passenger services in March 2026, it did not simply ground the aircraft. Cathay began reallocating capacity from its Middle East passenger network earlier in 2026. April’s schedule adjustment directed aircraft capacity towards Manchester and Rome as Cathay recorded stronger demand on those markets.

The logic was clear: as passengers who had been routing via Dubai shifted to alternatives — direct European routes, Turkish Airlines via Istanbul, Singapore Airlines via Singapore — demand on Cathay’s European routes surged. Cathay responded by adding extra flights to London and providing additional capacity to Zurich in March to cater for a surge in demand for Europe.

Manchester specifically — a key market for UK passengers connecting Cathay’s network to Asia — received additional capacity. For UK passengers, this actually represented a short-term improvement in availability on the Hong Kong–Manchester route, even as the Dubai route went dark.

For freighter services, Cathay will continue to review the resumption of freighter services to both cities while closely monitoring developments in the Middle East. Cargo flights and passenger flights are being assessed separately — a cargo-only resumption to Dubai or Riyadh is possible before passenger services restart.

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The Impact on Australian, UK and Canadian Passengers

Australian Passengers

Australia is one of Cathay Pacific’s most important markets. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth all have direct Cathay services to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong has historically been one of the primary connection points for Australia–Middle East travel — particularly for the large Australian expatriate community in Dubai and the significant Australian tourism market that uses Dubai as a stopover.

For Australian passengers who had booked or planned to book CX Hong Kong–Dubai connections through January 31, 2027:

• Ongoing work contracts in Dubai or Riyadh booked with return travel on CX will need to reroute
• Australian tourists using Hong Kong as a stopover to Dubai for the winter season must find alternative routing
• Australia–Riyadh business travel on CX is disrupted for the full period

The most practical Australian alternatives (detailed in the routing guide below) are Emirates direct Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane/Perth–Dubai nonstop, Etihad via Abu Dhabi, and Qatar Airways via Doha.

UK Passengers

UK passengers have been well-served by Cathay Pacific’s Manchester capacity additions during the suspension period. However, for passengers who specifically valued the Cathay product quality — particularly the A350-900 on the Riyadh route with its Business class flat beds — the suspension means switching to Emirates, Qatar Airways, or British Airways (which itself has its Dubai return only confirmed from November 2026).

The UK–Dubai route is one of the most heavily served in the world, so alternatives are plentiful. UK–Riyadh alternatives are more limited in carrier choice — Saudia, flydubai via Dubai, and some Etihad routings via Abu Dhabi are the primary options.

Canadian Passengers

Air Canada’s suspension of Dubai and Tel Aviv extends into mid-January 2027, as confirmed by Business Traveller. Combined with Cathay Pacific’s January 31, 2027 deadline, Canadian passengers who had been routing Toronto/Vancouver → Hong Kong → Dubai on CX/Air Canada connections now face a complete restructuring of their Middle East connectivity for the entire winter season.

The most practical Canadian alternatives for Dubai are Emirates from Toronto (nonstop) and Qatar Airways via Doha.

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The Full Waiver Terms — What You Are Entitled To

Cathay Pacific has extended its waiver covering rebooking, rerouting and refund charges for eligible Middle East bookings. The specific terms confirmed from Cathay’s September 28 notice:

Eligibility:

• Tickets issued on or before September 28, 2026
• Original departure dates: September 28, 2026 to March 31, 2027

What you can do:

• Rebook: Change to a different Cathay Pacific flight at no additional charge (subject to availability and fare class conditions)
• Reroute: Divert your journey to a different destination on the Cathay network
• Refund: Request a full refund to original payment method — no cancellation fee

Deadlines:

• All ticket changes must be completed by March 31, 2027
• Any revised journeys must be completed by May 31, 2027

For Dubai and Riyadh specifically: Tickets must cover flights operated by Cathay Pacific (not codeshare partners on other aircraft).

For Doha (separate waiver): Doha tickets must carry Cathay Pacific ticketing and cover a Cathay-marketed flight.

Important: The waiver covers rebooking fees and change charges. The underlying ticket price is not automatically refunded if you choose to rebook rather than cancel. If your specific flight is cancelled (which it now is, for all departures through January 31), you are entitled to a full refund regardless of the waiver.

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Step-by-Step Action Guide

Step 1 — Check if your booking is affected: Log in to cathay.com → Manage Booking. Any departure to Dubai or Riyadh between today and January 31, 2027 is confirmed cancelled. If your booking has not yet been proactively cancelled by Cathay (some notifications are delayed), the waiver still applies.

Step 2 — Decide: rebook, reroute, or refund?

Step 3 — Request your chosen option:

• Online: cathay.com → Manage Booking → Change/Cancel
• App: Cathay app → Trips → Modify
• Phone: Cathay Pacific Global Customer Care — 24/7 service
• Through your travel agent if booked via agent

Step 4 — If requesting a refund: Specify “full cash refund to original payment method” — not credit or miles. Refunds for cancelled flights do not require waiver eligibility — your right to a cash refund on a cancelled flight is immediate and unconditional.

Step 5 — Claim any out-of-pocket costs: If you have already incurred costs as a result of the cancellations (hotel bookings, connecting flights with other carriers, visa fees), contact Cathay’s customer relations department separately from the ticket refund. These claims are assessed individually and are not covered by the standard waiver.

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Alternative Routes — How to Get to Dubai and Riyadh Without Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong / Asia to Dubai

Australia to Dubai (bypassing Hong Kong)

UK to Dubai (via alternatives to Cathay routing)

Hong Kong / Asia to Riyadh

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Which Other Airlines Have Also Suspended Dubai and Riyadh?

Cathay Pacific is not alone. The Gulf airspace crisis has driven a wave of suspensions across major carriers:

Emirates, Etihad, and flydubai — as UAE-based carriers — continue operating Dubai services throughout. Qatar Airways continues Doha services. These Gulf-based carriers have become the primary beneficiaries of the network restructuring caused by the suspension of Asian and European carriers’ routes.

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The Passenger Traffic Data — What the Gulf Is Losing

The scale of disruption to air passenger flows is now visible in the data. Passenger traffic at Middle Eastern airlines was down 10% from a year earlier, according to IATA, compared with a 58.6% fall in March after the conflict began — a sign of partial recovery, but still a significant ongoing suppression.

Meanwhile Dubai International Airport continues to operate: it processed 31.5 million passengers in the first six months of 2026 and operates normally, serving 217 destinations across 99 countries with nearly 50 active international airlines. The suspension is not closing Dubai to the world — it is reshaping who flies there and how. Gulf-based carriers are absorbing the gap, Asia-Pacific carriers are absent, and fares on remaining routes have risen as capacity is concentrated in fewer hands.

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Cathay Pacific Contact and Claim Guide

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Summary — Cathay Pacific Dubai + Riyadh Suspension

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Posted By : Vinay

As a lead contributor for Travel Tourister, Vinay is dedicated to serving our Tier 1 audience (US, UK, Canada, Australia). His mission is to deliver precise, fact-checked news and actionable, data-driven articles that empower readers to make informed decisions, minimize travel risks, and maximize their adventure without compromising safety or budget.