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Coronavirus pandemic
Hong KongHong Kong Economy

Hong Kong third wave: Emirates Airlines halts flights to and from city amid Covid-19 clampdown

  • Under new rules, passengers who have been in ‘high-risk’ countries will need to provide a negative Covid-19 test result before arriving in Hong Kong
  • Airline says it is working hard to resume services as soon as possible and remains committed to city

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Options for Hong Kong residents looking to return from Pakistan will now be more limited. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Danny Lee
Emirates Airlines, which has carried relatively large numbers of returnees from Pakistan and India back to Hong Kong during the coronavirus pandemic, has halted all flights to and from the city until Saturday amid new rules requiring passengers from high-risk areas to test negative for Covid-19 before flying.

Passengers who had been in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa, the Philippines or Indonesia would need to provide a negative Covid-19 test result before arriving in Hong Kong, the government said on Monday.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Tuesday refused to rule out adding more countries to the so-called high-risk list.

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Hong Kong battles third wave of coronavirus infections

Hong Kong battles third wave of coronavirus infections

Travellers would be asked to show test certificates from Saturday although the rule takes effect from Wednesday, an airline industry source said.

With few airlines flying from India and Pakistan to transit hubs and more broadly to Hong Kong, the number of flight options has narrowed considerably for those in the South Asian countries.

There are at least 5,000 Hong Kong residents still stuck in India several months on from the start of the pandemic.

Mandatory testing for aircrew arriving in the city was introduced last Wednesday.

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