SIA confirms suspension of flights to Hong Kong from April 3-16

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has confirmed that it has been asked to suspend the daily passenger service from Singapore to Hong Kong from April 3 till April 16, said the national carrier in a statement late Friday.

The passenger service from Hong Kong to Singapore is, however, not affected.

The suspension comes after a transit passenger who travelled on board flight SQ882 and had a negative pre-departure test result, subsequently tested positive on arrival in Hong Kong. Three other transit passengers who also had negative pre-departure test results, were subsequently found to not have fully met the regulatory requirements of the Hong Kong authorities based on their test documents, said the statement.

"SIA has taken immediate steps to strengthen checks at the point of embarkation to ensure that our customers are in compliance with Hong Kong's regulatory requirements, (and will) also assist the health authorities in all contact tracing efforts related to this case," it added.

Separately, a spokesperson from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), in response to media queries, said that under Hong Kong's Covid-19 testing requirements for air passengers arriving in the city, Hong Kong has set trigger points whereby airlines could face suspension.

In this case, SIA had breached one of the trigger points. Other airlines have also similarly breached the trigger points before, as the Hong Kong authorities enforce them strictly, added the spokesperson.

In the meantime, SIA said it has reached out to affected customers to offer the necessary assistance, and to minimise the inconvenience caused by the disruption.