Cathay Pacific flight CX105, a Boeing 777-300ER bound for Melbourne, was forced to circle and return to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in the early hours of 11 December after cockpit instruments indicated a blown main-gear tyre shortly after take-off. Passengers reported hearing a loud bang; the crew declared a local emergency, burned fuel for about an hour and landed safely with fire crews standing by.
No injuries were reported and a replacement aircraft departed around 07:00, but dozens of passengers missed onward connections in Australia. Cathay’s engineering team has grounded the jet for detailed inspection and tyre-rim analysis. The airline said the crew followed standard safety procedures and praised HKIA operations control for rapid coordination of runway availability and buses to return travellers to the terminal.
![Cathay Pacific 777 makes precautionary return to Hong Kong after mid-air tyre blow-out]()
For anyone suddenly dealing with an unexpected layover or rebooking challenge, online visa specialist VisaHQ can arrange express Australian ETA approvals as well as same-day Hong Kong transit-permit advice, all through a single dashboard. Their portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) lets corporate travel departments delegate documentation chores and track status in real time, helping stranded passengers and their employers stay compliant when flight plans change at the last minute.
The incident highlights the operational fragility that can still disrupt Hong Kong’s recovering long-haul network. Corporate travel managers should monitor CX’s Melbourne schedule for residual delays and remind staff to keep minimum two-hour buffers for domestic connections in Australia. Insurers note that most corporate policies treat tyre-related returns as covered “mechanical failures”, so duty-of-care teams should log the event and assess any knock-on accommodation costs.
From a regulatory perspective, Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department is expected to review flight-data-recorder downloads; no immediate fleet-wide inspection order has been issued. The 777 family’s tyre-pressure warning logic has been the subject of several manufacturer service bulletins, but Cathay says its fleet is fully compliant.
No injuries were reported and a replacement aircraft departed around 07:00, but dozens of passengers missed onward connections in Australia. Cathay’s engineering team has grounded the jet for detailed inspection and tyre-rim analysis. The airline said the crew followed standard safety procedures and praised HKIA operations control for rapid coordination of runway availability and buses to return travellers to the terminal.
For anyone suddenly dealing with an unexpected layover or rebooking challenge, online visa specialist VisaHQ can arrange express Australian ETA approvals as well as same-day Hong Kong transit-permit advice, all through a single dashboard. Their portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) lets corporate travel departments delegate documentation chores and track status in real time, helping stranded passengers and their employers stay compliant when flight plans change at the last minute.
The incident highlights the operational fragility that can still disrupt Hong Kong’s recovering long-haul network. Corporate travel managers should monitor CX’s Melbourne schedule for residual delays and remind staff to keep minimum two-hour buffers for domestic connections in Australia. Insurers note that most corporate policies treat tyre-related returns as covered “mechanical failures”, so duty-of-care teams should log the event and assess any knock-on accommodation costs.
From a regulatory perspective, Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department is expected to review flight-data-recorder downloads; no immediate fleet-wide inspection order has been issued. The 777 family’s tyre-pressure warning logic has been the subject of several manufacturer service bulletins, but Cathay says its fleet is fully compliant.
