Coronavirus: airlines urge Hong Kong to release timeline for lifting all quarantine measures or risk being left out next year
- Board of Airline Representatives of Hong Kong urges government to drop quarantine for passengers and crew
- Overseas flight crew do not want to come to Hong Kong due to strict rules, coalition says, noting Air Canada has only resumed direct flights after months of talks
A coalition of airlines has warned Hong Kong could be left out of their plans for next year unless the government provides a clear timeline of when Covid-19 quarantine rules will be lifted, noting that 48 carriers no longer fly to the city.
The Board of Airline Representatives of Hong Kong (BAR), speaking for more than 70 carriers flying to and from the city, described talks with officials as “encouraging”, but said there was no indication of a timeline to phase out quarantine rules for both passengers and flight crew.
With airlines looking ahead to March next year, when the summer flight schedule begins, BAR vice-chairwoman Yolanda Yu Yang said carriers needed six to nine months to plan their fleet and manpower.
“Currently, we are working on the flying season from next March onwards. Without knowing much of the changes about the city, the border set up, Hong Kong will be dropped out again in the airline planning cycle,” warned Yu, who is also General Manager of Hong Kong at Air New Zealand.
Out of the 110 foreign airlines that flew to Hong Kong before the coronavirus pandemic emerged at the beginning of 2020, about 48 foreign carriers had stopped doing so because of its stringent restrictions and the need to redirect resources to countries where demand was increasing, according to BAR.
