According to a senior government official, Hong Kong has barred Air India and Vistara flights from till October 30 after a few passengers were tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival on Friday.
Air India flights have been banned by the Hong Kong government earlier as well and this is the third time as many passengers were infected with the deadly virus. Previous bans were put in September and August.
It should be noted that it is the first time that Vistara flights are being banned by Hing Kong due to coronavirus. According to the rules issued by the Hong King government, passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if they have a COVID negative certificate from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey,.
“A few passengers who travelled on Delhi-Hong Kong flight of Air India and Chennai-Hong Kong flight of Vistara on Thursday tested positive for COVID-19 post-arrival,” the senior government official said.
“Consequently, the flights of these two airlines have been barred from October 17 to October 30 by the Hong Kong government,” he added.
Apart from India, a COVID-19 negative test is mandatory for all passengers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa, and the US.
An airline operating a flight to Hong Kong from any of these nine countries has to submit a form before departure, stating that all passengers onboard have COVID negative certificates.
Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the pandemic. However, special flights are operating under the Vande Bharat mission since May.
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