Cathay Pacific

Is Cathay Pacific safe?

Yes. Cathay Pacific has gone almost 59 years without a fatal crash, and no Cathay aircraft has been destroyed in an accident in that time. We score it 85, the same as Singapore Airlines. What holds it back is not its crash record but a run of recent serious incidents and a fleet that includes some of the oldest widebodies flying for a major Asian airline.

The record

The last time a passenger died in a Cathay crash was 5 November 1967, when a Convair 880 overran into the harbour at Kai Tak; one person was killed. On 15 June 1972, a bomb destroyed another Convair 880 over Vietnam, killing all 81 on board. That was a criminal act, not an accident, but it is part of the history.

The most dramatic event since then is CX780, on 13 April 2010. An Airbus A330 refuelled at Surabaya, where a newly extended hydrant system still held salt water. The contaminated fuel carried tiny spheres of absorbent material that disabled thrust control on both engines. Approaching Hong Kong, one engine stuck at about 70% power and the other near idle. The crew could not slow down, landed at about 231 knots ground speed, far above normal, and stopped 309 metres before the end of the runway. One passenger was seriously hurt and 62 people slightly hurt in the evacuation. The investigation blamed the fuel supplier and the hydrant work at Surabaya, not the airline or its crew.

Recent serious incidents

Hong Kong's Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) has several open Cathay files. They are the reason the incidents score is lower than the crash record.

• CX383, 2 September 2024. Just after take-off for Zurich, the right engine of an Airbus A350-1000 caught fire. The crew shut it down, the fire warning cleared within a minute, and they dumped fuel and landed back in Hong Kong with no injuries among the 348 on board. The AAIA found a hole in the steel-braided fuel hose feeding one of the fuel nozzles. Cathay inspected its 48 A350s within days and replaced hoses on 15 of them, cancelling about 90 flights, and EASA ordered the same checks on other Trent XWB-97 engines.
• CX880, 24 June 2023. A Boeing 777-300ER rejected take-off at 145 knots after an airspeed mismatch. Back at the stand, the overheated brakes burst a tyre and started a small fire, and the crew evacuated. Eleven passengers were hurt, two seriously. The AAIA found weak coordination between Cathay and its ground and maintenance staff after the high-speed rejected take-off, and two engineers narrowly escaped serious injury; Cathay accepted its safety recommendation.
• Two tail strikesTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary on go-arounds. On 26 November 2025, an A350-1000 hit its tail when the crew went around from the landing flare in Hong Kong. On 3 July 2026, an A330-300 did the same, and inspectors found cracked floor beams and a 25 cm crack in the rear pressure bulkhead. Nobody was hurt in either event; both are still under investigation.
• Lost radio contact, 4 July 2026. On a flight to London, the crew answered a call meant for another aircraft, switched to the wrong frequency and did not notice they had lost contact with air traffic control. The Civil Aviation Department expressed "serious concern", ordered extra training for the crew and told Cathay to strengthen how it reports safety events.

None of these caused a death, and the A350 response in 2024 was quick. But four significant events in three years is a lot for an airline with Cathay's record.

What Cathay flies

At 30 June 2026, Cathay Pacific had 179 aircraft including freighters, averaging 13.3 years, according to its interim results. That is older than most large Asian rivals.

Type	Aircraft	Average age
Airbus A350-900 / -1000	30 / 18	8.2 / 6.6 years
Boeing 777-300ER	35	13.7 years
Airbus A330-300	43	17.8 years
Boeing 777-300	17	24.7 years
Airbus A321neo	16	3.6 years

The 17 older 777-300s average almost 25 years. They are well maintained, but they belong to an older generation. Their replacements, 35 Boeing 777-9s, are not expected before late 2027, and 30 A330-900s will replace the A330s over the coming years.

Group airlines and certificates

The Cathay Group runs three certificates. Cathay Pacific (CX) flies passengers and its Cathay Cargo freighters. HK Express (UO) is the low-cost airline, with its own certificate and an A320-family fleet; see our HK Express page. Air Hong Kong is an express all-cargo airline with 14 freighters. The former regional arm Cathay Dragon was folded into Cathay Pacific in 2020.

How to fly Cathay Pacific more safely

• Pick an A350 when you can. The A350s and A321neos are the newest aircraft in the fleet; the seat map or the aircraft type on your booking tells you which one you get.
• Keep your belt on in the seat. Summer thunderstorms around the South China Sea cause turbulence on approach to Hong Kong.
• Leave bags behind in an evacuation. Most injuries on CX780 and CX880 happened on the slides; a quick, orderly exit lowers that risk.

How we scored it

The accident record (93) is the strongest factor. Oversight (88) is strong, though the AAIA's reports take years. The fleet (72) and serious incidents (72) are the weak points. Compare EVA Air, Taiwan's carrier with no fatal accident, and China Airlines.