Coronavirus: transit through Hong Kong airport to and from mainland China not allowed in first phase of opening up

Transit through Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to and from mainland China will not be allowed in the first phase of opening up transfer travel in the city from June 1 as coronavirus measures are eased.

Cathay Pacific confirmed the restrictions after two sources said transport officials in Hong Kong had instructed the firm and Hong Kong Airlines that they could not fly transit passengers to the mainland in a meeting with company representatives earlier this week.

“In this first phase, transiting to and from destinations in mainland China is not available,” Cathay said on its website.

According to a third source at the meeting, officials explained that they did not want to overwhelm transit facilities, citing the need to slowly build up the airport’s capability otherwise it could not cope. China currently has the highest demand for air travel anywhere in the world.

The Hong Kong administration earlier announced that transiting would be allowed at the airport starting from June, a move to relax travel restrictions imposed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. But no details had been unveiled.

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“Airlines have the utmost responsibilities in ensuring, at the point of check-in at the origin ports that the transit passengers will be accepted at the final destinations. It is the responsibility of the airlines to conduct all necessary verification at the origin ports,” the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) told carriers in a briefing on Friday.

Airlines said they had been hit with a raft of other restrictions on transit passengers too.

As part of HKIA opening up, airlines have been asked stick to existing schedules. Airlines were told not to add extra flights beyond May 29 so as not to overwhelm transit facilities. Passengers would be able to transit as long as their existing flight was still operating.

Tickets could only be sold on the same booking by the same airline groups, such as Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon, but interline or code-share arrangements involving a foreign airline connecting onto a Cathay or Hong Kong Airlines service was not permitted.

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Also, passengers who have stopovers of more than eight hours in Hong Kong will not be permitted to travel, with the AAHK hoping to avoid the risk of contact and transmission of Covid-19 among passengers.

Cathay Pacific said on its website that transit connections would only be available when itineraries were contained in a single booking and the stopover time was under eight hours.

Airlines sources accused the government of not “thinking through” the measures, adding that it was an attempt by Hong Kong to beat Singapore in opening up for transit passengers a day earlier.

In contrast to the obstacles in Hong Kong, the Singapore and Chinese governments announced in a joint statement on Friday that they would open up essential travel for business and official purposes in June between the city state and six mainland provinces and municipalities.

The restrictions on airlines in Hong Kong is a big blow, given the huge demand internationally for flights into the mainland, and that the city is not subject to the same capacity restrictions as other foreign carriers.

Airfares have soared in response to a curb on capacity by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Mainland airlines were only allowed one weekly passenger flight on one route to any given country and foreign carriers were also limited to one weekly flight to one mainland city.

Referring to the high cost of air tickets, Andrew Lee, an equities analyst at Jefferies, said in a research note on Wednesday: “Inbound passenger demand remains strong [primarily students studying overseas] with yields ‘significantly higher’ due to [the] number of flights capped by CAAC policy.”

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Airlines in the United States have been pushing for a resumption in US-mainland flights but Washington accused Beijing of blocking the restart of services.

As part of the gradual resumption of transiting through HKIA, transfer passengers would be encouraged not to linger around the terminal, airport chiefs said.

Physical distancing of 1.5 metres would be encouraged while designated dining areas had been set up.

“On the basis of protecting health and safety of passengers and airport staff as our top priority, it is of paramount importance for HKIA as a major international aviation hub to resume transfer/transit services … ensure a smooth resumption of transfer/transit services and a safe end-to-end journey for passengers,” Vivian Cheung Kar-fay, AAHK’s executive director of airport operations, said on Friday.

Demand for air travel has collapsed because of the spread of Covid-19, which has resulted in border closures and quarantine measures being put into place.

Hong Kong has barred non-residents from overseas countries from entering the city. Residents and people coming from the mainland, Taiwan and Macau are subject to 14 days of quarantine on arrival.

Cathay Pacific said: “We will continue to monitor customer demand as air transit services via Hong Kong International Airport resume in phases.”

A Hong Kong Airlines spokeswoman said: “This has little impact on us for now but is a step forward in opening up entry to Hong Kong. More work needs to be done between governments to lift travel restrictions globally, which will help to kick-start the business recovery process for Hong Kong Airlines.”