Mainland Group In Transit Limbo Heads Back To Dubai

Ten mainland travellers who were left in a limbo at the airport for days last month before being moved to a quarantine centre is to be flown back to Dubai, the place they had arrived from.

The plight of the group had made the headlines after it was revealed that some passengers in the Emirates flight they travelled in tested positive for the coronavirus and one man in the group was hospitalised after showing some Covid symptoms.

The group was planning to head to the mainland, but under the current travel restrictions the authorities there do not allow transit through Hong Kong.

The group had initially refused to be flown back, but sources told RTHK on Saturday that they will be flown back to Dubai on Saturday evening.

This comes as health authorities said they have all tested negative for Covid-19.

The Airport Authority had come under fire health experts questioned why the officials had not alerted the health officials about the group for days.

Last week airport officials said around a dozen people were stuck at the airport due to flight cancellations and Covid-19 restrictions by different countries. One of them had stayed at the airport for over three months.

The authority said as of now, three transit passengers remain stuck at the restricted area of Chek Lap Kok. No further details about them were available.