Cathay Pacific Confirms Return To Adelaide

Cathay Pacific has confirmed it will return to Adelaide, Australia, with a winter seasonal service to meet demand.

The Hong Kong-based carrier will operate thrice weekly flights during the summer in Australia, but its local winter service will commence on 11 November 2025.

Therefore, Adelaide will join the already year-round connectivity options to the Southwest Pacific, which range from neighbouring Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. However, this also extends towards Christchurch and Auckland, the former being a seasonal service. An honourable mention also goes out to the airlines’ seasonal service to Cairns.

The new seasonal flight will operate as CX173, departing from Hong Kong (HKG) at 2330 and arriving in Adelaide (ADL) at 1030 the following morning. Departures from Hong Kong will be scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Meanwhile, the returning leg, operating as CX174, will depart Adelaide (ADL) at 1200 and arrive back in Hong Kong (HKG) at 1740 on the same day. Departures from Adelaide will occur on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

With our return to Adelaide, we will be operating close to 90 return flights per week to eight destinations in the Southwest Pacific at the peak of this winter season, providing a great many choices for our customers travelling between the region and our home hub. Whether they are travelling for business, leisure or to visit friends and relatives, we look forward to welcoming customers onboard and experiencing our signature Cathay Pacific service.

Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau

The carrier took the time to reaffirm its excitement about returning to Adelaide after first launching passenger flights in 1992; its history with the city has been long-standing, and many have long awaited its return.

Expansion At Cathay Pacific

Adelaide rejoining the network, albeit on a seasonal basis, is part of the business’ broader efforts to continue expanding and rebuilding what was a damaged route network.

Cathay Pacific and the low-cost carrier are determined to add 16 destinations to their global network this year alone, and more announcements are expected.

Because of the intense focus on expansion, the Group knows it will reach 100 passenger destinations worldwide in the first half of this year. That number only increases further when considering the sizable code-share partnerships worldwide.

Several high-profile non-stop services, such as Dallas and Hyderabad, have already launched in 2025, but many more are expected to follow, such as Rome, Munich, and Brussels.