Barcelona to have direct flights to Hong Kong from July

Cathay Pacific will connect Barcelona and Hong Kong with a direct flight from July 2 until October 27, in a project which is still pending approval from the Spanish Government. The airline will operate the route with four flights a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The new route will complement the airline’s existing service from Madrid, making a total of eight flights a week, meaning that Cathay Pacific will offer more direct flights to Asia from Spain than any other airline, according to the airline’s press release this Thursday. The company also stressed that the new route will be the only nonstop flight connecting the Catalan capital and Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading financial centres.

Cathay Pacific’s general manager for Spain, Stafford Jansen, declared that 2016 was a very important year for the company, with the opening of offices in Spain, the hiring of new staff and the launch of the only direct flight between Madrid and Hong Kong last June.

Stafford went on to say that "For 2017, Cathay Pacific expects to consolidate its position in Spain as a premium airline and to increase its volume of business with a new direct flight between Barcelona and Hong Kong". Currently, the Asia market has the fewest nonstop routes from Barcelona’s El Prat Airport. Nevertheless, Cathay Pacific’s new route is in addition to the announcement of new direct flights to Shanghai with Air China and to Seoul with Korean Air.