If airlines “import” too many corona cases from the point of view of the leadership of the Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong, they will be punished with a flight ban of at least two weeks. For some carriers, this is now too exhausting, so that the metropolis is simply no longer served. Hong Kong is now trying to counteract this.
Someone has to be held responsible if people test positive for the corona virus after entering the former British crown colony. The chief executive of the Chinese special administrative region makes it very easy and has airlines "punished". Similar to mainland China, these collect temporary flight bans. Since the quarantine regulations for flying personnel are also very strict, many carriers simply no longer want to head to Hong Kong.
Now you want to win back the trust of the airlines. However, Chief Executive Carrie Lam is not even thinking of abolishing the controversial practice of punishing airlines, but wants to shorten the ban to a maximum of one week from April 1, 2022. However, this does not change the fact that carriers can collect a temporary flight ban from as little as three people who test positive after entry.
Similar to mainland China, Carrie Lam is pursuing a kind of zero-Covid strategy. This is now much more relaxed in Hong Kong, as it has been recognized that lockdowns are not really helpful at Omikron. In mainland China, this realization has not yet caught on. Nonetheless, the Hong Kong Chief Executive believes that penalizing airlines is an adequate means of preventing the introduction of corona cases. In Lam's view, it is still far too early for serious easing.