Hong Kong travel agent pledges stricter oversight as coronavirus-related ban on Air India flights draws to a close

The travel operator vows to use only vetted testing facilities for passengers, and to facilitate transport for arrivals directly to hotel quarantine

The government, meanwhile, says it is in talks with the Indian consulate, and ‘will closely monitor the situation and the need for further charter flights’

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A flight takes off from the Hong Kong International Airport in 2018. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 11:00am, 30 Aug 2020Updated: 10:41pm, 30 Aug 2020

The biggest travel agent on the India-Hong Kong route has pledged greater oversight and stricter health protection rules in a plan submitted to the local government seeking the resumption of direct flights between the two places, which were banned following a spate of imported coronavirus infections.

GC Nanda & Sons made the submissions to the Security Bureau on Friday as the two-week ban neared its end at midnight on Monday.

Air India has not said if and when its Hong Kong flights would resume following the ban, which went into effect on August 18, but it has stressed its flights followed all strict health protection guidelines laid out by health officials.

The ‘disproportionate number of passengers’ on recent Air India repatriation flight to Hong Kong suggested a ‘lack of rigour’ when it came to enforcing coronavirus protocols, a local travel operator said. Photo: Shutterstock

But Poonam Nanda, director of Hong Kong-based travel operator GC Nanda & Sons, said there were valid reasons to question if that was the case.

“The disproportionate number of passengers on Air India’s recent repatriation flight suggests a lack of rigour in strictly applying the necessary protocols to ensure only negative tested passengers are permitted to board,” Nanda said.