CE Calls Halving Of Flight Suspensions 'streamlining'

The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, has described the move to halve the specific flight suspension for airlines carrying passengers infected with Covid-19 to a week as "streamlining."

From Friday, the bans will be triggered only if three passengers on a flight into Hong Kong subsequently test positive or there are breaches of pre-departure testing and other rules.

Lam said it's about balancing risks, which is why the mechanism can't be suspended.

"The airlines as the operator of those inbound flights also have to comply with the various requirements," she said.

"So since we have this expectation in requirement of the airlines, we need to put in some penalty. If they fail to fulfill these requirements and bring a certain number of infected passengers into Hong Kong, then we have to take some punitive action so that they would do better."

Airlines and Hong Kong's Airport Authority had called for changes to the mechanism to restore the SAR's connectivity to the rest of the world.

Asked whether the easing would satisfy them, the Chief Executive said her government will never be able to meet the aspirations of the aviation industry in full.

"We are in a public health emergency, so every business has to make sacrifices," Lam said

"I hope and I make an appeal that airlines would understand that we're striking a needed balance to allow some inbound flights to take place, but at the same time we would not relax our controls in order to keep Hong Kong safe."

Cathay Pacific welcomed the decision to adjust the passenger flight-specific suspension mechanism.

"We are actively working on resuming more flights for our customers from April 1 to cater to the anticipated demand," the airline said in a statement.

"We are fully committed to keeping all vital connections, and the flow of people and goods between Hong Kong and the rest of the world moving, and to upholding Hong Kong’s international aviation hub status, just as we have over the past many decades," it said.