Hong Kong banned Air India flights from Sunday through October 3 after some passengers on its Friday flight tested COVID-19 after their arrival, a senior government official said Sunday.
Air India passenger flights were able to land in Hong Kong between 18 and 31 August after 14 passengers on their Delhi-Hong Kong flight on 14 August tested positive for COVID-19 after arrival.
Passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong if they have a negative COVID-19 certificate of a check conducted within 72 hours of travel, in accordance with regulations issued through the Hong Kong government in July.
In addition, all foreign passengers must pass through a COVID-19 check after the flight at Hong Kong Airport.
A spokesman for the national airline showed the order and said, “Hong Kong banned Air India for two weeks, from September 20 to October 3. “
“There is a scheduled flight in the two weeks, the Delhi-Hong Kong flight on 21 September. This flight is cancelled and passengers have been informed,” the spokesman added.
Air India Express announced Friday that its flights had been suspended for 2 four hours through the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) for bringing two COVID-certified passengers on August 28 and September 4.
Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, resumed flights in Dubai on Saturday.
According to UAE rules, passengers travelling from India must bring an original negative COVID certificate of an RT-PCR verification conducted within 96 hours of travel.
“Some passengers on a Delhi-Hong Kong flight on September 18 tested COVID-19 after their arrival,” the senior government official said.
“As a result, Air India flights were banned from September 20 to October 3 through the Hong Kong government,” the official added.
In addition to India, a COVID-19 negative pre-flight certificate is required for all passengers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States, in accordance with Hong Kong rules.
An airline operating a flight to Hong Kong from one of those nine countries will need to submit a form before departure, indicating that all passengers on board have negative COVID-19 certificates.
Scheduled passenger flights have been suspended in India since 23 March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, special flights were operated with the approval of the DGCA aviation regulator.
Air India has been providing special flights abroad since May 6 as a component of the Vande Bharat project for other stranded people to succeed in their destinations.
Since July, India has entered into separate bilateral air bubble agreements with countries such as the United States, Germany, France, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the Maldives for air operations.
As a component of a bilateral air bubble pact, airlines in either country may operate foreign flights with certain restrictions.
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