'HK Should Scrap Flight Suspension Mechanism'

Representatives of the tourism industry and domestic helper agencies have urged authorities to lift or adjust the flight suspension mechanism, saying it's no longer appropriate to temporarily ban specific flights from landing in Hong Kong just because several passengers tested positive for Covid-19.

Speaking on an RTHK radio show on Wednesday, Thomas Chan, who chairs the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, said more foreign domestic helpers will be able to come to the SAR after officials lift its flight ban on nine countries – including the Philippines – from April 1.

But he said the flight-specific suspension mechanism remains a problem and should be lifted.

Under the mechanism, authorities can stop an airline from flying from a specific destination for two weeks if several infections emerge from the same flight.

“In Hong Kong, there are so many infected persons, so for passengers from those countries, [they only account for] very few [cases],” Chan said.

“For these passengers, it doesn’t mean once they go out of the plane they can go everywhere. They still have to be tested in the airport. They still have to be confined in quarantine hotels. So the risk of spreading to the community is very, very slim… The suspension scheme is no [longer] suitable for the situation of Hong Kong.”

Chan added that there aren't enough quarantine rooms to meet the demand for new arrivals, as some hotels have been turned into community isolation facilities.

Timothy Chui from the Tourism Association, meanwhile, suggested that the government amend the flight halting mechanism by raising the threshold on the number of infections that will trigger a suspension.

He also called on officials to consider converting some hotels back for quarantine purposes to satisfy the demand.

Some infectious diseases experts, like University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung, also agreed that the flight suspension mechanism can be scrapped or adjusted.

He said inbound Hong Kong residents should be allowed to isolate at home due to the lack of quarantine facilities.