Cathay Pacific has launched its non-stop flight service between Hong Kong and Rome, marking the airline’s return to Italy’s capital as the Cathay Group approaches 100 passenger destinations worldwide.

The new summer seasonal service is the fourth new destination to join Cathay Pacific’s global network in 2025, following launches to Hyderabad, Dallas-Fort Worth and Urumqi.

Low-cost carrier HK Express has launched services to six destinations in 2025, including Sendai, Nha Trang, Ishigaki, Komatsu, Changzhou and Yiwu.

Lavinia Lau, Cathay chief customer and commercial officer, said Rome had long been an important destination for the airline and popular among customers.

“Rome has long been an important destination for Cathay Pacific and a popular one among our customers,” Lau said.

“We first launched flights to the city in 1986 and we are thrilled to be back once again connecting our home, Hong Kong, with the Eternal City.”

The airline will also launch flights to Munich and Brussels this summer, operating close to 100 return flights per week to 12 European destinations.

Operating three times per week on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the Hong Kong-Rome service will be operated by the Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

The aircraft offers 38 flat-bed seats in business class, 28 seats in premium economy and 214 in economy.

The service operates from June 5 to October 25, 2025, with flight CX293 departing Hong Kong at 12.30am and arriving in Rome at 7.35am.

The return flight CX292 departs Rome at 1pm and arrives in Hong Kong at 6.30am the following day.

Rome becomes Cathay Pacific’s second destination in Italy, joining existing daily return flights to Milan.

The airline also operates flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Madrid, Manchester, Paris and Zurich in Europe.

Customers travelling from Europe can connect to the Cathay Group’s extensive network of destinations in Asia-Pacific, including 22 destinations in mainland China served by Cathay Pacific and HK Express.

Cathay Pacific and HK Express are launching passenger services to 16 destinations around the world in 2025, with the Cathay Group’s combined passenger network set to reach 100 destinations in the first half of this year.