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Danny Lee

Hong Kong has temporarily barred Cathay Dragon’s Kuala Lumpur service and Air India from flying passengers to the financial hub after a number of passengers originating from India tested positive for Covid-19.
For Air India, the ban was its second in little more than a month after its most recent flight on September 18 carried six passengers with Covid-19.
On the same day, Cathay Dragon carried five passengers that had the virus, who had transited through Kuala Lumpur.
Under emergency health regulations tightened on September 15, any airline that carries five Covid-19 passengers or more, or two consecutive flights with three or more diagnosed passengers, faces being banned from Hong Kong.
Both airlines are barred from operating their respective services until October 3.

India has the second-most cases of Covid-19 in the world behind the United States, at 5.3 million and rising. In total, 30.5 million cases and 953,000 deaths had been reported worldwide as of Sunday.
The move means ­repatriation flights operated by Air ­India are grounded, and a Cathay Dragon transit route – Kuala Lumpur – is being shut for ­thousands of Indian citizens desperately seeking to return to Hong Kong after being stranded abroad for several months.
Hong Kong has long harboured doubts about India’s quality and reliability of testing, while suspicions over the authenticity of health documents also linger.
A spokeswoman for Cathay Dragon said it was notified on Saturday night by health authorities in Hong Kong that five passengers on flight KA734 from Kuala Lumpur last Friday had the virus.
“As a result of the Civil Aviation Department directive, we will suspend our passenger services between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong until October 3,” the airline said in a statement.
India virus cases surpass 5 million; Malaysia won’t rush border reopening
The five Cathay passengers flew to Malaysia on an Air India Express service before connecting to Cathay Dragon.
Authorities in Hong Kong, according to Cathay, said the affected passengers’ documents complied with strict health rules.
As well as sending the affected aircraft for deep cleaning, the airline said it was trying to trace people who were in close contact with the passengers on board.
Flight KA734 also carried four Covid-19 passengers on September 11 from India. The Hong Kong Department of Health said six Air India passengers who arrived on September 18 were subsequently diagnosed with the virus.
Since July 25, the Hong Kong government has required travellers from high-risk countries – including India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia and the United States – to secure a negative Covid-19 test with certification and validation within 72 hours of departure. A hotel reservation for 14 days must also be presented as proof.


Among the requirements is a stipulation that testing must be undertaken at an accredited or government-approved facility. However, Hong Kong relies upon other governments to determine what a testing facility must do to be approved.
People have been left desperate, as flights from India to Hong Kong have been slow to be organised despite high demand.
Air India was also banned from flying to the city for two weeks in August after a dozen Covid-19 cases were detected.
When the ban took effect, the Hong Kong government advised people stranded in India to fly to the city via transit hubs such as Kuala Lumpur, despite the potential for increased exposure to the virus.
Imported cases from India have previously arrived in Hong Kong via Singapore, Doha and Kuala Lumpur.
Last week, Air India Express was banned by Dubai authorities for 15 days starting on September 18, after the airline’s airport ground handling agents boarded two passengers who had tested positive for the virus. The ban was lifted after 24 hours.


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Coronavirus pandemic

Hong Kong bans Cathay Dragon flights from Kuala Lumpur and Air India after positive Covid-19 tests

The Hong Kong government requires travellers from high-risk countries to secure a negative Covid-19 test before boarding. Photo: Sam Tsang

Image showing a Cathay Dragon aircraft (left) and a Hong Kong Airlines aircraft (back right), taken from Terminal 2 of the Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok. 27MAY18 SCMP / Roy Issa

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Passengers dressed in traditional Korean Hanbok costumes are seen before boarding a Tigerair Taiwan flight that will circle over South Korea's Jeju Island and then return to Taoyuan, following the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan September 19, 2020. Chen Shu-Tzu/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

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epa08669559 People walk through a public market in Marikina City, Metro Manila, Philippines 14 September 2020 (issued 15 September 2020). Manila has reached the threshold of six uninterrupted months of quarantine and is heading towards the longest and strictest lockdown in the world, with no date for its end, as efforts to contain the pandemic continue to fail and the Philippines is the main focus of COVID-19 containment in Southeast Asia. EPA-EFE/ROLEX DELA PENA

epa08681162 Protesters and police clash at a 'Resist & Act For Freedom Rally' demonstration in at Trafalgar Square London, Britain, 19 September 2020. The rally run by suspended former nurse Kate Shemirani is a forum for people who believe the Covid virus is a hoax and are anti-vaccine and government intervention. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL

epa08680133 Police try to intercept protesters during an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne, Australia, 19 September 2020. EPA-EFE/ERIK ANDERSON AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT ALTERNATE CROP

A staff member holds signs that introduces Korean and Jeju languages, on a Tigerair Taiwan flight that circles over South Korea's Jeju Island before returning to Taiwan's Taoyuan, following the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, September 19, 2020. Chen Shu-Tzu/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

16 September 2020, India, Mumbai: A health worker checks temperature of a woman at Sathe nagar slum colony during a Coronavirus (Covid-19) door to door testing in Mumbai. Photo: Ashish Vaishnav/SOPA Images via ZUMA Wire/dpa

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific aims for ‘survival’ as it grounds two-fifths of passenger fleet amid Covid-19 collapse in air travel

Cathay Pacific planes sit grounded at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Winson Wong

Flight attendants wear masks as they walk at the Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Hong Kong has declared the outbreak of a new virus an emergency and will close primary and secondary schools for two more weeks after the Lunar New Year holiday. City leader Carrie Lam also announced Saturday that trains and flights from the city of Wuhan would be blocked. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Doorstep in-flight meals, online shopping and flights to nowhere: how airlines, including Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, are navigating Covid-19

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Airplanes from Cathay Pacific airlines and Hong Kong Airlines grounded at the Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok amid the coronavirus pandemic. 11SEP20 SCMP / May Tse

British Airways aircrafts are seen at Bournemouth International Airport in Bournemouth, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Bournemouth, Britain, May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong economy


Aviation authority has temporarily suspended them from operating services until October 3
Eleven passengers arriving on Friday have been confirmed as infected with the coronavirus



Ban until October 3 comes after 11 passengers arriving on Friday confirmed as infected with the coronavirus.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Coronavirus India

Cathay Dragon

Hong Kong bans Cathay Dragon flights from Kuala Lumpur and Air India after positive Covid-19 tests

Aviation authority has temporarily suspended them from operating services until October 3 Eleven passengers arriving on Friday have been confirmed as infected with the coronavirus

Aviation authority has temporarily suspended them from operating services until October 3

Eleven passengers arriving on Friday have been confirmed as infected with the coronavirus