Coronavirus: Swiss International Air Lines suspends flights to Hong Kong over strict quarantine regime; city confirms 9 new cases

Four Zurich-to-Hong Kong flights will be cancelled, with the suspension set to be reviewed on December 11

The airline is the third to cut flights into the city, after British Airways and local flag carrier Cathay Pacific

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Swiss International Air Lines is suspending flights to and from Hong Kong for at least a week over the city’s strict quarantine rules. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 3:54pm, 5 Dec 2021Updated: 11:50am, 6 Dec 2021

Switzerland’s flag carrier has suspended flights in and out of Hong Kong for at least a week, citing the city’s tightened coronavirus quarantine measures for aircrew.

Four Zurich-to-Hong Kong flights would be cancelled, with the suspension set to be reviewed on December 11, a spokesman for Swiss International Air Lines said on Sunday.

The airline – the latest to find its operations hamstrung by the city’s strict Covid-19 quarantine rules – said Saturday’s decision came after “careful consideration”, and that it would closely monitor the situation.

“This action has been taken in response to a tightening of the local quarantine provisions for crew members arriving in Hong Kong,” the spokesman said. “We are also contacting all the customers concerned.”

The development came as Hong Kong added four more nations - Chile, the Cook Islands, Luxembourg and Romania - to its list of high-risk Group A countries over the detection of Omicron variant cases.

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