Cathay Pacific offers £20,000 Sydney-London flight amid disruption in Gulf

Cathay no longer had seats in economy class available to book on many dates in April but fares for the cheap seats started at about £1,800. Photograph: Loren Elliott/Reuters

The Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is selling seats from Sydney to London for more than £20,000 in April, as passengers search for scarce long-haul flights without changing in the Middle East.

The tickets, listed at A$39,577 in business class for returns departing in mid-April, far outstrip the usual fares charged even in the first-class cabin.