The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said on Friday that it has completed its review of Cathay Pacific’s full investigation into last month’s in-flight communication failure involving a Hong Kong–to-London flight.

The incident came to light after Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi posted on social media that the Airbus A350 heading to Heathrow had briefly lost contact with air traffic control while flying over Romanian airspace, prompting a Nato quick-reaction alert.

Cathay Pacific later confirmed the occurrence.

According to the CAD’s statement, the aircraft’s communication equipment was found to be functioning normally throughout the event.

The disruption was instead attributed to the flight crew selecting an incorrect radio frequency in response to instructions intended for another aircraft.

The crew subsequently failed to recognise that communication had been lost.

Following the incident, Cathay Pacific has rolled out a series of corrective measures.

These include revisions to operational and monitoring protocols for the communication system, along with reinforced reminders for flight crews to maintain heightened vigilance at all times.

The CAD expressed serious concern over the episode and has directed the airline to rigorously implement the planned improvements. This includes providing additional training and performance assessments for the crew members involved.

Reaffirming the critical importance of uninterrupted communication between flight crews and air traffic controllers, the department has also called on Cathay Pacific to strengthen its internal reporting mechanisms for safety-related events.

The airline had already begun adopting the enhanced procedures in mid-July.

The CAD confirmed it will continue to closely monitor the effectiveness of these measures in the coming months.


Edited by Aaron Tam