Cathay passengers bemoan refund policies as US, Israel exchange strikes with Iran

South China Morning Post · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Passengers flying with Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways have criticised the flag carrier over its compensation and rebooking policies after flights to the Middle East were cancelled due to the joint United States-Israeli attack on Iran.Cathay Pacific said on Sunday that it was “waiving rebooking and re-routing charges for the affected customers” to give them “greater flexibility”, but did not clarify whether the measures included financial compensation for conflict-related cancellations or delays.A reporter from the South China Morning Post spoke with stranded travellers at Hong Kong International Airport as they dealt with disrupted journeys. Many of the affected flights were to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).Among them was a 36-year-old man who gave his name as Yan. The traveller from Wuhan was left bargaining with staff at Cathay’s service counters.Yan, who has worked in Riyadh for five years, said he had been stranded since Saturday after his flight to the Saudi capital was cancelled.He said his repeated calls to the airline’s customer service hotline had gone unanswered.