Hong Kong flagship carrier suspends all regional operations after joint military assault rocks aviation
Cathay Pacific Halts All Middle East Operations After US-Israeli Strike
Hong Kong’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, suspended all passenger and cargo flights to and from the Middle East on Saturday, February 28, 2026, hours after the United States and Israel launched a sweeping joint military assault on Iran codenamed Operation Epic Fury. The Hong Kong Airport Authority confirmed that at least nine flights had been cancelled or postponed, while the city’s government issued a fresh warning against all travel to Iran. The military operation, described by US President Donald Trump as massive and ongoing, targeted sites across Tehran and other Iranian cities, including locations near the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliated with missile strikes aimed at northern Israel and at multiple US military facilities across the Gulf region.
Flights Grounded, Passengers Left Stranded
Cathay Pacific confirmed it had suspended all passenger services to Dubai and Riyadh, as well as freighter operations to Al Maktoum International Airport. The safety of our customers and crew guides every decision we make, the airline said in a statement, adding that it was monitoring the situation continuously. The airline urged passengers to check its website before travelling to the airport. The sudden shutdown rippled through Hong Kong’s aviation sector, which has long served as a critical hub linking Asia to the Middle East and beyond. With airspace above Iran and surrounding states becoming a war zone, dozens of carriers worldwide grounded their regional routes simultaneously.
A City on High Alert
The Hong Kong government’s travel warning reflected the city’s deep exposure to global instability despite being ruled under Beijing’s tightening grip. For ordinary Hongkongers, the shutdown was a reminder that the city’s economic lifeline as a financial and logistics hub remains vulnerable to geopolitical shock. Critics of Beijing’s rule note the irony: a government that has systematically dismantled Hong Kong’s political freedoms over five years now finds itself unable to shield the city’s residents from the consequences of a world growing more fractured under authoritarian pressure.
A Wider World in Flames
The strikes represent one of the most dramatic escalations in the Middle East in years, arriving just eight months after a 12-day US-Israeli air campaign in June 2025 that struck Iranian nuclear sites. This time, analysts say, the window for diplomacy was deliberately closed. According to former Pentagon official Dr. Michael Rubin at the American Enterprise Institute, reports that China had authorized the transfer of carrier-killer missiles to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard played a key role in accelerating the US decision to strike before Iranian asymmetric naval capabilities could be upgraded. The Council on Foreign Relations conflict tracker has documented the long arc of US-Iran tensions leading to this moment. Iran fired back at US bases in Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain and air raid sirens rang out across Israel. For Hong Kong, a city already stripped of its political voice by Beijing’s national security apparatus, Saturday’s events offered a stark lesson: the freedoms and global connections that once made this city extraordinary cannot survive indefinitely under the shadow of authoritarian control. The free world’s instability begins, in many ways, with the silence of those who can no longer speak. Reporting from the Middle East Institute chronicles the trajectory that led to this flashpoint. Al Jazeera’s ongoing coverage tracks the escalating regional fallout hour by hour.
Pui Yi Cheung
Economy & Labor Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: puiyi.cheung@appledaily.uk
Pui Yi Cheung is an economy and labor journalist with expertise in employment trends, small business dynamics, and workers’ rights. Educated at a respected UK journalism school, she received formal training in economic reporting, data literacy, and investigative techniques, equipping her to cover complex financial topics accurately.
She has contributed to Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese newspapers, reporting on wage policy, employment conditions, labor organizing, and the economic challenges facing diaspora communities. Her work emphasizes firsthand interviews and careful examination of official statistics and regulatory documents.
Pui Yi brings real newsroom experience in translating economic data into accessible reporting without sacrificing accuracy. She is known for methodical fact-checking and for consulting independent experts when covering technical subjects.
Her authority is reinforced by consistent editorial oversight and adherence to transparency standards, including clear sourcing and prompt corrections when required.
At Apple Daily UK, Pui Yi Cheung produces trustworthy economic journalism grounded in evidence, professional experience, and public-interest reporting.
