HK flight ban under review

Suspended flights to nine countries could be lifted from 1 April.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam clarified that the latest decision to end the flight ban on nine countries is not a relaxation of border control measures as only fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents will be allowed to board a flight for Hong Kong, and they will be subject to very stringent quarantine requirements.

The Hong Kong Government announced that the flight suspension on Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK, the USA, and Nepal could be lifted from 1 April.

Read more: Gov't to end flight ban on 9 countries on 1 April

"If an inbound flight brings in a certain number of COVID-19 positive cases upon arrival, then they will not be allowed to fly again for a period of two weeks. This is going to limit the number of flights inbound," Lam explained. "I can only say that we know the problem, and we are looking at how we could resolve this without compromising our border control measures."

Noting that there were also concerns about the availability of designated quarantine hotel (DQH) rooms for inbound travellers, the Chief Executive said the government is working to encourage more hotels to turn into DQHs.