A Cathay Pacific flight bound for London returned to Hong Kong International Airport on Monday afternoon after a suspected mechanical issue was detected shortly after takeoff.
Flight CX253 departed Hong Kong at around 1.30pm. Less than an hour into the journey, a potential technical problem was identified, prompting the crew to request an immediate return.
Firefighters were placed on standby at the airport as a precaution. The aircraft landed safely at about 3pm, with no injuries reported.
Cathay Pacific said its engineering team is conducting a thorough inspection of the aircraft. Affected passengers have been rebooked onto a replacement flight scheduled to depart later tonight.
Passengers were also provided with day-use hotel rooms to rest before their rescheduled departure.
The airline said all operational decisions are made with passenger and crew safety as the top priority, and apologized for the inconvenience caused.
