‘Technical issue’ forces Hong Kong-bound Cathay flight to return to Kaohsiung
Flight CX449 returns to Taiwanese city on Sunday morning shortly after take-off, with passengers rebooked onto other flights
A Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific Airways flight had to return to Kaohsiung in Taiwan shortly after take-off on Sunday morning due to a technical problem, with around 200 passengers affected.
A Cathay Pacific spokesman confirmed flight CX449 had turned back because of an unspecified “technical issue”.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our customers for their understanding and patience,” the spokesman said.
Taiwanese media said on Sunday that a fuel leak in the plane’s engine had caused engine pressure anomalies. Cathay did not specify the issue in its response to the incident.
The flight took off from Kaohsiung at 7.46am on Sunday but had to return to its origin shortly afterwards, landing at 8.26am.
The aircraft was an Airbus A321neo, with a capacity of 202 seats.