Letters | Once upon a time in Hong Kong, flying was painless

Readers discuss the pre-pandemic ease of travelling from Hong Kong, restrictions on open-air sports, the mask mandate, and comparing the fatality rates for Covid-19 and flu

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Travellers walking through the departure hall of the Hong Kong International Airport in 2019, in the era before coronavirus. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 11:30am, 17 Sep 2022

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In the six months since I left Hong Kong, I have used Kuala Lumpur as my base and made three trips to Kuching, two trips each to Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali, and one each to San Francisco, Singapore, Bangkok, Penang and Kota Kinabalu. Not once did I fly Cathay Pacific, mainly because the airline, for all intents and purposes, was simply not operating.

I have to say that I did not enjoy the travel time of more than one hour to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport or the budget airline experience of flying via KLIA2. But compared to the draconian quarantine requirements of Hong Kong, flying via Kuala Lumpur was a breeze. There was no need for quarantine or Covid-19 tests.

I caught Covid-19 after my first trip to Bali in June but thanks to my three vaccination shots, my symptoms were mild. I am almost glad I caught the virus because I can now say vaccination works in ensuring the symptoms are mild and tolerable.

Like the thousands of business travellers who have called Hong Kong home for decades, I miss the ease and familiarity of flying from our city. I will soon be flying back to Hong Kong on September 20 and do not look forward to the three days of hotel quarantine.

True, this might be a breeze compared to the 21 days I had to endure last October. But that’s the wrong comparison. The world has moved on and Hong Kong today seems hopelessly anachronistic.