Air India flights to Hong Kong cancelled till April 24 amid Covid restrictions

New Delhi, April 18

Hong Kong authorities have put a ban on Air India operations to their country till April 24 after three passengers on one of the airline’s flights tested positive for Covid-19 post arrival on Saturday night, aviation officials in India said.

Later in a tweet, Air India said, “Due to restrictions imposed by the Hong Kong authorities and limited demand on the sector, our flights to Hong Kong and back of 19th and 23rd April stand cancelled.”

Passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if they have a Covid-19 negative certificate from a test done 48 hours prior to the journey, according to rules issued by the Hong Kong government.

Earlier in January, this year, Hong Kong had announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries, including India, as the world continues to witness a surge in the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Moreover, all international passengers are required to take a post-flight Covid-19 test at the airport premises in Hong Kong.

“The three passengers on Air India’s AI316 Delhi-Kolkata-Hong Kong flight on April 16 tested positive for Covid-19 post arrival,” the official said.