Beginning April 1, 2022, Hong Kong will relax travel restrictions for nine countries: Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, according to Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam.
Explaining the decision, Lam said: “The suspension is out of time and causing distress to Hong Kong people stranded overseas.”
Lam added: “The more stringent quarantine requirements imposed on arrivals than local COVID-19 patients or close contacts have also affected the city’s business environment.”
The Hong Kong government may also cut the hotel quarantine period for fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents arriving in the city from 14 to seven days.
Cathay Pacific, the city’s flag airline, applauded the move. The airline said in an emailed statement that it is actively trying to restore more flights on April 1, 2022.
“We are fully committed to keeping all vital connections and the flow of people and goods between Hong Kong and the rest of the world moving, and to upholding Hong Kong’s international aviation hub status, just as we have over the past many decades,” Cathay Pacific announced in the statement.
Travel restrictions and quarantine regulations in Hong Kong as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic affected Cathay Pacific passenger operations in February 2022. In February 2022, the airline was operating at 2% of pre-COVID levels.
