Last of 76 Cathay Pacific aircraft return to Hong Kong, four years after being stored in Alice Springs

A fleet of international aircraft which were stored in the Red Centre for almost four years have now made their journey home. Here’s how they managed to keep them in tip-top shape. PICS.

The last of 76 Cathay Pacific aircraft, which have been stored at Alice Springs since mid 2020, has been returned to Hong Kong on June 6, 2024.

A remnant of the early days of the pandemic that would go on to claim a reported more than seven million deaths worldwide has returned home after being stored in the desert for years.

The final Cathay Pacific aircraft which was stored at the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage in Alice Springs, departed from the Red Centre airport on Thursday morning.
The last aircraft to depart, an Airbus A330 – which was the first of 76 CX aircraft to be held at the facility – has been in storage since July 28, 2020.

The stored Cathay Pacific aircraft.

The aircraft had been brought to Alice Springs after the company determined its full fleet could not stay at the Hong Kong International Airport for a long time.

Alice Springs was appealing to the company for its low humidity and far proximity to the ocean, as well as its on-site maintenance capabilities.

But while international and domestic flights were stoppered during the initial height of the pandemic, the Cathay Pacific planes were not left to fall into disrepair.

Five Cathay Pacific engineers accompanied the 76 aircraft to the desert to help local engineers and mechanics with maintenance of the aircraft.

The aircraft were meticulously maintained by five Cathay Pacific engineers who travelled to the Red Centre.

Regional general manager for Southwest Pacific, Frosti Lau, said the returning home of the fleet signified a huge step for the airline and its 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,” Mr Lau said.

“Cathay Pacific continues to regrow its network and flight, 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.”

The last of 76 Cathay Pacific aircraft left Alice Springs for Hong Kong on June 6, 2024.

Mr Lau said the focus of ensuring the maintenance of the stored planes, and their safe reactivation for their return to Hong Kong, had been successful.

Since July 2020, the on-site team have:

> Performed 16,000 periodic checks to ensure the airframe, engines, systems and components remained in top condition

> Spent approximately 800,000 labour hours performing periodic and reactivation maintenance

> Conducted more than 2000 oversight surveillance checks through the quality assurance on-site standards team

> Shipped 40,000 parts to Alice Springs from components, tooling and even a set of aircraft jacks and specialist ground support equipment

Adam Nelson, regional head of engineering Southwest Pacific said he was “immensely proud” of the team who maintained the aircraft.

Originally published as Last of 76 Cathay Pacific aircraft return to Hong Kong, four years after being stored in Alice Springs