Hong Kong slaps six airlines with weeklong bans

Dhaka: Less than a week after lifting some of its strictest inbound travel curbs, Hong Kong again slapped six major airlines – Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways, Korean Air Lines and Malaysia Airlines – with weeklong bans.

These airlines were slapped with week-long bans in early April after breaching Hong Kong’s so-called circuit-breaker mechanism. A stoppage can be meted out if three or more Covid-19 cases are found on the same flight, or if there is one confirmed infection and another non-compliant passenger.

The current tally accounts for 11 per cent of all airline route suspensions issued so far this year.

The bans come after Hong Kong eased a raft of travel measures on April 1 in response to mounting frustration over the city’s effective closure for most of the past two years due to pandemic restrictions.

Authorities had lifted an outright ban on inbound flights from nine countries, including the US, the UK and Australia, and reduced quarantine for inbound travellers to one week.

The business community has warned that the circuit-breaker mechanism was a major risk for anyone seeking to fly to Hong Kong, given travellers cannot be certain their flight will go ahead.

The measure also contrasts with the majority of the world, which is opening up and resuming international travel. Hong Kong requires every passenger to have a negative PCR test result before boarding their flight and currently only allows residents to enter the city.