Hong Kong bans Air India flights, says one-third of 23 new cases recently travelled from India

The Hong Kong government on Sunday suspended flights from Air India after a surge in the number of coronavius disease cases, according to local media reports.

Many local outlets quoted Hong Kong’s department of health as saying the flights of Air India and Cathay Dragon have been suspended till October 3 after passengers aboard were found to be infected with Covid-19.

Cathay Pacific said in a statement that five passengers from India who were on a Cathay Dragon flight between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong on September 18 tested positive for Covid-19, even after they submitted negative nucleic acid tests before their trip. The passengers were earlier on an India Express flight.

Hong Kong recorded the highest number of new infections in almost a month. One-third of the 23 new cases were in people who had recently travelled from India, according to the Centre for Health Protection. Only four local infections were reported.

Hong Kong had banned flights operated by Air India in August too. These flights were part of the Vande Bharat Mission.

The Vande Bharat Mission started in early May to evacuate Indians stranded abroad due to travel restrictions in wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

A passenger from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if he or she has a Covid-19 negative certificate from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey, according to the rules issued by the Hong Kong government in July.

Air India Express flights were suspended for 24 hours on Friday by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) for bringing two passengers with Covid-positive certificates on August 28 and September 4.

As per the UAE government rules, each passenger travelling from India is required to bring an original Covid-negative certificate from the RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey.