Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Hong Kong among places urged by world aviation body to test incoming travellers prior to flight to avoid surge in imported cases

International Air Transport Association also takes opportunity to ramp up objections to mandatory quarantine, which it equates to unnecessary ‘full travel ban’. City records 14 more imported cases, mostly from Pakistan

The global trade body for airlines has urged Hong Kong and other places with strict quarantine rules to ensure that travellers flying in from high-risk countries are tested for Covid-19 first before boarding flights to avoid the influx of imported cases that the city is currently facing.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reiterated its criticism of mandatory quarantining for arrivals, suggesting high-risk travellers should instead be screened at the source before allowing them in, as Hong Kong confirmed 14 more imported cases on Thursday.

They were identified as nine men and five women – 12 from Pakistan, one from India and one from the Philippines – taking the city’s total to 1,193.

Health authorities also reported on Thursday the death of a 55-year-old stroke patient, who was flown back from the Philippines via air ambulance on Tuesday and tested positive for Covid-19. He was the city’s third coronavirus fatality in a week and the seventh in total.

While Hong Kong has not recorded a local transmitted case for 12 straight days, it has been facing a surge of imported infections, primarily among residents returning from Pakistan.

On Wednesday, health authorities sent 10 would-be transit passengers who had been stranded at the airport for five days to a government quarantine facility after realising they had arrived on the same Saturday flight as 26 others previously found to be infected.

There was one more traveller in the transit group who agreed to be flown back to Dubai. Among the 10 who were quarantined, one showed symptoms on Thursday night and was sent to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.

Hong Kong International Airport currently has a ban in place on transit flights to cities in mainland China, where the 11 passengers were headed. A source told the Post that a breakdown in communication had resulted in the delayed response to their situation.

The 26 imported cases who shared the Emirates Airlines flight with the stranded travellers were Hong Kong residents returning from Pakistan.

“If testing could have been done prior to departure, those passengers would have been picked out and wouldn’t have flown,” IATA assistant director of external affairs James Wiltshire said at a weekly news briefing. “That’s where the testing for higher-risk countries within 24 hours in the community and not at the airport would help, especially in the Emirates case.”

IATA also took the opportunity to ramp up its objections to mandatory quarantine, which it equated to an unnecessary “full travel ban”.

“We understand you don’t want to reimport Covid-19, and that you want to control travellers potentially being infected,” director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said.

“For that, the key, probably, the solution, is testing. Secondly, if you implement the multilayered approach recommended by worldwide guidelines … it should significantly reduce the risk of transmission on board from country A to country B.”

The guidelines he was referring to were unveiled by the UN aviation agency at the beginning of this month. They are a detailed series of health recommendations designed to limit contact between passengers, airport staff and cabin crew, and would affect every stage of the air travel process.

The Hong Kong government’s strict measures to keep a lid on infections in the city have been largely successful, but they have been a source of frustration to IATA and the aviation industry’s wider push to reopen borders.

The core issue is whether pretesting is a viable alternative to quarantining people on arrival.

Also on Thursday, a source told the Post that micro-cracks found in toilet sewage pipes could be a reason why nine tenants at Lek Yuen public housing estate in Sha Tin were infected earlier this month.

The source, privy to the results of a joint investigation by the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said they had also found that a sewage pipe had been repaired in a ninth-floor flat, which was probably why tenants of that particular unit avoided infection.

To date, 9.36 million Covid-19 infections have been reported globally, of which 480,000 have proved fatal.

Hardest hit is the United States, which alone has recorded more than 2.4 million infections and 124,000 deaths. America’s three most populous states have reported new highs in daily cases, prompting New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to impose quarantine orders on travellers coming in from eight other states.

The European Union said it was considering shutting out American arrivals, while countries such as Australia have also warned that borders would not reopen until next year. China remains sealed off to visitors as well.

Reopening borders is a thorny issue for countries that are managing to bring the pandemic under control but remain wary of a relapse as the global crisis continues to take its toll.

IATA on Thursday offered a two-step approach to scrapping quarantine requirements for arriving passengers.

The first step focuses on discouraging symptomatic people from travelling and giving them the flexibility to rebook flights to ensure they are not pressured into taking off.

The second step calls for tougher enforcement of preflight health declarations and making testing a prerequisite, particularly for high-risk countries.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×