Cathay Pacific A350 aircraft is diverting to Osaka amid Hong Kong rainstorm Black Alert.
July 29, 2025 — Cathay Pacific Flight CX801, en route from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), is forced to divert to Osaka, Japan, after Hong Kong issued a rare Black Rainstorm Warning early Tuesday morning.
The Airbus A350-1000 (registration B-LXD) departed Chicago six hours late on July 28 at 9:58 PM CDT. The Hong Kong Observatory raised the Black Rainstorm Signal—the highest level in the city’s three-tier system. The warning indicates extreme rainfall exceeding 70 millimeters per hour, triggering widespread disruption to transportation, school closures, and the suspension of airport ground operations for safety reasons.
As weather conditions rapidly deteriorated over the Pearl River Delta, Cathay Pacific’s operations team made the decision to divert the flight to Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Osaka to ensure passenger safety and avoid holding in storm-affected airspace.
Passengers were informed of the diversion and the aircraft is expected to land land at 00:52 (local time) Wednesday 30, July. The airline is scheduling the stop to last only one hour for now.
The Black Rainstorm Warning is the most severe in Hong Kong’s weather alert system and is issued only when torrential rain poses a significant threat to life and infrastructure. It is rarely seen, and its issuance often leads to widespread transport shutdowns across the region.
