Air India flights to Hong Kong cancelled till Apr 23; details here

National carrier Air India has cancelled all flights to and from Hong Kong due to restrictions imposed by authorities and limited demand in the sector, the airline said.

Air India said in a tweet, “Due to restrictions imposed by the Hong Kong authorities and limited demand on the sector, our flights to Hong Kong and back of 19th and 23rd April stand cancelled.”

Indian passengers can arrive in Hong Kong if they have a COVID-19 negative certificate from a test done 48 hours prior to the journey, according to news agency ANI. International passengers are also required to take a post-flight COVID-19 test at the Hong Kong airport.

As per these rules, if there is one COVID-19 positive case and one case of non-compliance with pre-departure testing on any flight, the airline will be suspended from flying on the route for seven days.

Hong Kong announced a two-week flight ban in January from eight countries, including India, due to a surge in Omicron COVID-19 variant.

Countries impacted because of this flight ban include India, Pakistan, Nepal, Australia, Canada, the Philippines, Britain, France, Australia and the United States. The ban also included a ban on transferring passengers.

The decision was announced by HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam at a press conference. She also said that the decision was taken because of a rapid change in the local COVID-19 situation.

(With agency inputs)