Exclusive | Hong Kong bans Air India from flying to city for two weeks over imported Covid-19 cases
- Government invokes emergency public health powers after linking 11 imported coronavirus infections to New Delhi flight
- Source says officials believe lab tests in South Asian nation are ‘not very reliable’
The government acted after linking 11 imported cases on an Air India flight from Delhi on August 14 to poor preflight testing for the virus. It was the first time officials invoked an emergency public health regulation to penalise an airline for the offence.
Hong Kong officials on Monday revoked permission for a charter flight to land the following afternoon.
“The fact 11 passengers tested positive on the same flight shows the lab tests back in India are not very reliable,” a government source said. “The airline has to do deep cleaning [on its planes] and make sure it won’t happen again on future flights before they can be resumed.”
Air India plays a key role in flying thousands of Hong Kong residents stranded in the South Asian nation, and its ban will increase the stress on people who have waited months to return.
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The government moved to suspend flights for two weeks, from August 18 to 31, by invoking the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation.