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Exclusive | Hong Kong fourth wave: airlines face tougher new Covid-19 ban, with KLM the first to be sidelined
- Going forward, a single positive test among passengers can see a carrier banned for two weeks if it fails in screening requirements
- The Netherlands’ flag carrier was barred last week after the new measures were quietly introduced, though it was unclear what specific rules were violated
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Airlines flying to Hong Kong with even a single Covid-19-positive passenger aboard now face a two-week ban if any other travellers on the flight fail to comply with pandemic control measures under tough new rules aimed at preventing imported cases, the Post has learned.
But while the move places a stricter emphasis on compliance with regulations governing the passenger screening process, there are still no penalties tied to failures of due diligence that do not involve an imported infection.
Even so, one major airline has already fallen foul of the new standard, with European carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines becoming the first carrier found to have breached the new rules last week, prompting the government to ban its Amsterdam-Hong Kong flight from December 4 to 17.
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The Department of Health said one of the KLM passengers “could not comply with the requirements specified”, but did not elaborate on what rule the traveller had violated. The airline declined to comment on the case, citing privacy issues.
Carriers were previously banned only when a plane contained five or more passengers who tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival, or if a total of at least three infected passengers arrived aboard two consecutive flights.
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