Good news for Hong Kong travellers as Japan and South Korea lift restrictions on flights arriving from city
- Move will help speed up recovery of Hong Kong’s aviation industry, authorities say
- Japan will also ease restrictions on passengers from mainland China, but they will still need to present negative Covid-19 test result before departure
Hong Kong travellers hoping to escape the city for a holiday in Japan or South Korea can breathe a sigh of relief as both countries are set to remove restrictions on flights from the city on Wednesday.
The Hong Kong government on Monday said it welcomed the lifting of the restrictions, which had forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights in the past two months.
“The [Hong Kong government] has been liaising with the Japanese and Korean authorities, and seriously requesting them to rescind all unreasonable restrictions targeting Hong Kong flights,” the government said.
“The [government] believes that the lifting of the relevant restrictions by the Japanese and Korean authorities can bring more convenience to travellers and help speed up the recovery of Hong Kong’s aviation industry,” it continued.
Japan restricted the number of inbound planes each carrier could operate from Hong Kong at the end of last December. The Covid curbs had forced the city’s flagship carrier to cut some 20 per cent of its flights in January alone.