The US whistle-blower Edward Snowden would have a hard time flying out of Hong Kong to countries where he could evade the long arm of the US justice system.
The American Department of Justice has already said it has started a criminal investigation into Snowden's leaking of secret information earlier this week, which could mean a warrant for his arrest could be issued in the coming days.
Hong Kong, where he was last reported to be hiding, has an extradition treaty with the US, which barring an application for asylum, obliges the city to surrender him to American prosecutors.
Snowden has so far indicated his wish to seek asylum in Iceland, a country with a population of about 300,000, where he could only fly to by transferring in third countries - enabling his arrest in transit.
Hong Kong offers direct commercial flights to around 130 destinations, and Iceland is not one of them.
There are also no direct flights from Hong Kong to Ecuador, the country which has offered political asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks.