Government completes review of report on investigation into aircraft communication loss incident

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     The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said today (August 14) that the Government has received and completed the review of the full investigation report submitted by Cathay Pacific Airways (CPA) in regard to an incident on July 4, in which a CPA flight from Hong Kong to London's Heathrow experienced a loss of communication with the local air traffic control unit during its flight.

     The report indicated that the aircraft's communication equipment operated normally. The incident involved the incorrect selection of radio frequency by the concerned flight crew due to a mistaken response to air traffic controllers' instructions for another flight, and the flight crew did not subsequently realise the loss of communication.

     After the incident, CPA has implemented a host of improvement measures, including enhancing the operational and monitoring procedures for the flight crew regarding the communication system, and reminding the flight crew to be more vigilant at all times.

CAD expressed serious concern over the communication loss incident and has instructed CPA to robustly follow up on the relevant improvement measures, including providing additional training and assessment for the concerned flight crew. CAD reiterated the importance of maintaining good communications between the flight crew and air traffic controllers at all times to ensure aviation safety. CAD has also instructed CPA to enhance the reporting mechanism on aviation safety incidents. CPA implemented the related improvement measures in mid-July and CAD will continue to closely monitor the effectiveness of the measures implemented by CPA.

Ends/Friday, August 14, 2026
Issued at HKT 17:30

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