Hong Kong has announced it is suspending a COVID-19 measure that has resulted in dozens of flight cancellations and thwarted travel plans for thousands in recent months.
Most important points:
- Hong Kong will no longer ban arriving flights for bringing in COVID-infected passengers
- The rule has resulted in about 100 flight cancellations since the beginning of the year
- The rule had “little effect” on preventing imported infections, the government says
From Thursday, the city will no longer ban arriving airline flights just because they have brought in passengers infected with COVID-19, the government said.
“The new measure is a government decision after careful consideration of relevant data and taking into account the current peak period for international students returning to Hong Kong,” a government spokesman said.
Previously, a five-day flight route ban was imposed on airlines if at least five passengers or 5 percent of travelers — whichever was the greater — tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.
That has caused about 100 flight cancellations since the beginning of the year.
The announcement noted that most imported COVID-19 infections could be detected by the airport and hotel tests.
However, the government said the flight-suspension rule had “little effect” on preventing imported infections and that the risk of those cases causing infection in the community was “relatively minimal”.
Travelers had complained that last-minute flight cancellations under the regulation also affected quarantined hotel bookings.
Those affected often had to postpone their rescheduled trips for weeks because hotels were often fully booked months in advance.
Despite the lifting of the flight bans, travelers arriving in Hong Kong are still required to test negative for COVID-19 before arriving in the city, serve a mandatory seven-day quarantine period at a designated Hong Kong hotel and undergo a battery of rapid tests and nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 over a two-week period.
Hong Kong leader John Lee and health authorities have said they are exploring options to keep Hong Kong open to international travelers, including a possible reduction in mandatory quarantine periods.
AP