Hong Kong’s new government on Thursday suspended a long-standing flight route ban that penalizes airlines for bringing in coronavirus cases and severely impedes travel to the city, saying it’s “not very effective”.
The financial hub is increasingly isolated under tight pandemic restrictions as it reflects a lighter version of China’s strict zero-Covid policy, with Hong Kong’s once-busy airport now a relative aviation graveyard.
On Thursday, the administration of new city leader John Lee said the “circuit breaker” rule was being suspended to “do the best we can in fighting the pandemic at minimal cost to society.”
“At the current stage, the continued implementation of the ‘Circuit Breaker’ mechanism is not very effective to prevent imported cases,” the government said.
“The travel routes of a large number of passengers will be disrupted due to the mechanism, and as the supply of seats on airplanes and quarantine hotel rooms becomes scarce, the resulting social costs will be remarkably high.”
Travel to Hong Kong will continue to be a challenge as the city maintains its mandatory seven-day hotel quarantine on all arrivals.
The rooms in the selected hotels are fully booked months in advance.
Former city guide Carrie Lam introduced the rule last April that banned airlines from flying more than a handful of infected passengers on the designated route for a period of time.
The sentence was reduced from two weeks to a shorter five-day suspension during its year-long suspension.
It has been heavily criticized by industry figures who said Hong Kong is at risk of losing its position as a global aviation hub.
There have been more than 100 flight route bans so far in 2022, despite the coronavirus becoming endemic in Hong Kong following a mass outbreak earlier this year.
Reopening Hong Kong’s border with both mainland China and the rest of the world was one of the main aims of former top cop John Lee’s campaign before he was chosen by a small committee of Beijing loyalists to rule the city in May.
However, it is unclear how his administration can achieve both goals at the same time.
Lee told city lawmakers Wednesday Hong Kong was not ready to abandon its zero-Covid policy.
Hong Kong is currently facing a spike in Covid-19 cases, with numbers at their highest since April.
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