They’ve gotta get back in time.
Fliers on one trans-Pacific flight took off in the year 2025 and will land back in the year 2024, thanks to a path that crosses nine time zones and the international dateline.
Cathay Pacific Flight 880 departed from Hong Kong just minutes after the Chinese city rang in the new year on Jan. 1, 2025, according to FlightAware.
And when it reaches its destination after nearly 14 hours in the sky, the plane’s passengers will have travelled back in time — landing in Los Angeles around 10 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
The flight passed back into 2024 when it crossed the international date line over the Pacific Ocean.
Flight 880 is not the only plane that’ll be travelling back in time — and passengers have been known to book east-bound trans-Pacific flights across New Year’s eve with the express purpose of celebrating the holiday twice.
But, there are perils of time travel, and things don’t always go according to plan.
On United Airlines flight 200 from Guam to Hawaii last January, passengers were excited to celebrate New Year’s on the ground twice — before their flight departed at 7:35 a.m. on January 1, 2024 and after it landed at 6:50 p.m. on December 31, 2023.
But they were left crestfallen when their departure was delayed for more than six hours and they missed their second pass through the New Year because they were in the air.
Other travelers will shoot forward in time and miss New Year’s altogether.
Air New Zealand’s Flight 27 departs San Francisco Tuesday evening on New Year’s Eve, but after more than 12 hours in the sky en route to Auckland, the plane will land in the early hours of Jan. 2.
