New Delhi, September 21, 2020: International Flights Latest News: For the second consecutive time, Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department has suspended Air India flights after a few passengers on board the carrier tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival. The national carrier’s operations will remain suspended till October 3.
Confirming the development, a spokesperson of the national carrier said,”Hong Kong has prohibited Air India for two weeks — September 20 to October 3. There is only one flight scheduled in the two weeks — the Delhi-Hong Kong flight of September 21. That flight is cancelled and the passengers have been informed.”
Earlier this month, the Hong Kong government has tightened regulations for carrying COVID-19 positive passengers on board its flights to the metropolitan area.
“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,” South China Morning Post had said.
This is not the first time Air India flights have been barred from landing in Hongkong. Earlier, Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department had suspended flights of the national carrier between August 18 and August 31 after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival according to the reports published in india.com.
Passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if they have a COVID-19 negative certificate from a test done within 72 hours prior to the journey, according to rules issued by the Hong Kong government in July.
