Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways is celebrating the completion of its time at the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS) maintenance facility in Alice Springs, Australia, with its final aircraft taking to the skies after nearly four years.
The last aircraft to leave, an Airbus A330-300, was the first of 76 aircraft to enter the storage facility on 28 July 2020 after the unprecedented pandemic prompted Cathay to ground most of its passenger fleet.
The closing of this chapter in Alice Springs signifies a big step forward for Hong Kong’s home carrier as it plans to rebuild its passenger flights to 100 per cent of pre-pandemic levels within the first quarter of 2025.
“This is a special moment, not only for the team in Australia, but also the brand. Cathay Pacific continues to regrow its network and flights, and this was the final piece in getting all our aircraft back in the sky. It has been incredible to witness the team’s dedication to achieve this,” said Frosti Lau, regional general manager, Southwest Pacific.
After determining that its full fleet could not stay long term at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) during the pandemic, Cathay identified Alice Springs in the Australian desert as the ideal location for its aircraft due to its low humidity, far proximity to the ocean and on-site maintenance capabilities.
Reactivation
Once a plan was set out for reactivation, the team in Alice Springs worked alongside Cathay’s Hong Kong-based engineers to start this complex process.
Each reactivation required a six-month lead time for working with the aircraft manufacturer to carry out a technical assessment, and every aircraft had a tailored package of maintenance tasks developed.
This was followed by up to two months of extensive reactivation work in Alice Springs.
The tasks included landing gear swings, engine runs, structural inspections, lubrication tasks and functional tests of all the aircraft systems and components.
Once reactivated and declared safe for flight, each aircraft was then ferried back to Hong Kong where it would then undergo a further extensive scheduled maintenance check in a hangar facility.
