Hong Kong halves Covid-rule ban time for airlines

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong has cut the time airlines are banned for carrying excessive numbers of Covid-positive passengers to 7 days from 2 weeks.

The circuit-breaker mechanism that bans airlines if they carried 4 cases or more travellers from the same airport of origin within a week has been deleted, according to a statement released by the government late on Saturday (Mar 26).

Under the revised rules, most other existing triggers remain. Bans can be meted out if 3 or more Covid cases are found on the same flight, or 1 confirmed infection and another non-compliant one are discovered.

"On the premise of continuing the measures to guard against the importation of cases, the government requires that all airlines must stringently enforce the boarding requirements for inbound travellers, so as to reduce the risk of importation of cases as far as practicable," the government said in a statement. "And will continue to impose the flight suspension mechanism against specific non-compliant routes based on the streamlined triggering criteria."

The revised airline rules kicks in on Apr 1, the day rules lifting a flight ban on 9 countries, and a halving of quarantine from 14 to 7 days is implemented.

The city's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways said it would only schedule 1 flight per route every 14 days for the 9 countries whose flight bans were lifted on concern the mechanism could be triggered.

The Hong Kong government also announced the implementation of a special Covid screening arrangement starting Mar 29. Travellers will be subject to an additional rapid polymerase chain reaction-based nucleic acid test before they can check in for flights to China. BLOOMBERG