Hong Kong bans Air India flights for allegedly flying COVID-19 positive passengers

Hong Kong: The Hong Kong government on Sunday suspended flights from Air India after a surge in the number of COVID-19 disease cases.This development has come days after the Air India Express was banned in Dubai for allegedly flying passengers with COVID-19 positive certificates.

According to reports, the flights of Air India and Cathay Dragon have been suspended till October 3 after passengers were found to be infected with Covid-19.

Cathay Pacific said in a statement that five passengers from India who were on a Cathay Dragon flight between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong on September 18 tested positive for Covid-19, even after they submitted negative nucleic acid tests before their trip. The passengers were earlier on an India Express flight.

This has come amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong, which recorded the highest number of fresh infections in almost a month.  According to the Centre for Health Protection, a third of the 23 new cases were people who had recently travelled from India. Only four local infections were reported.

It may be recalled that Hong Kong had banned flights operated by Air India, which were a part for the 'Vande Bharat Mission', in August too.

According to the rules issued by the Hong Kong government in July last, a passenger from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if he or she has a Covid-19 negative certificate from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey.

In a similar development, Air India Express flights were suspended for 24 hours on Friday by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) for bringing two passengers with Covid-positive certificates on August 28 and September 4.

Indias travelling to the UAE are required to bring an original Covid-negative certificate from the RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey.

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