Turkish Airlines And Philippine Airlines Receive Hong Kong Bans

Simple Flying

By Sumit Singh

Published Aug 29, 2021

Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300 landing at London Heathrow Airport (LHR / EGLL ) in England, UK. Turkish Airlines ( TK ) connects Istanbul Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Turkey to Heathrow daily. The aircraft is a Boeing 777-3U8(ER) with registration TC-LKC working on two GE90, the largest passenger jet engines. The airplane has 28 Business Class seats and 372 Economy. Turkish Airlines leased this Boeing 777 from Kenya Airways in April 2016, the previous registration was 5Y-KZX. (Photo by Nicolas Ec

**UPDATE 30/08/21 @ 14:56 UTC: Statement from Philippine Airlines added; details below.**

”If travel is unavoidable, the CHP highly recommended the public to be fully vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines before their departure. They should continue to wear a surgical mask and maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times. Parents are also urged to avoid taking unvaccinated children travelling."

Manilla-Arrivals-Limited-getty — Hong Kong won't see Philippine Airlines arrivals from Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport until at least Saturday, 11th September. Photo: Getty Images

Below is part of a statement provided by Philippine Airlines to Simple Flying:

"Philippine Airlines passenger flights from Hong Kong to Manila continue to operate every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, according to our planned schedules. In the other direction, while PAL will not be able to carry passengers from Manila to Hong Kong up to September 11 to comply with the restriction, we will continue to operate all-cargo flights into Hong Kong.

"Please note that all our three passengers (2 Filipinos and 1 Chinese national) presented negative covid 19 test results when they checked in for their PR300 flights. Passengers affected by the ban may rebook, refund or convert their tickets into a travel voucher. Rebooking and refund service fees are waived."

Mitigating risk

The HK government is now classifying countries by high, medium, and low risk. Notably, both Turkey and the Philippines are currently in the high-risk group. Travelers flying in from countries in this section generally have to be Hong Kong residents, be fully vaccinated, and have to provide a negative PCR result. They also have to quarantine in designated accommodation for 21 nights.

Hong Kong flight bans have been a regular occurrence since the rise of the pandemic. For instance, Air India faced several bans due to flying multiple virus-positive passengers to the city. Other airlines also received bans for similar reasons, including Singapore Airlines. Even Hong Kong’s own Cathay Pacific was temporarily banned from operating its Manila route.

Nonetheless, even as the special administrative region relaxes its requirements to enter the country, it is showing that it is taking no prisoners when it comes to errors. The area will be keen to prevent another significant wave like the one it saw at the turn of the year.

hong-kong-airport-getty — Hong Kong is usually a passenger hotspot. Photo: Getty Images

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The new climate

Overall, the pandemic will continue to rock airline operations. Passengers will notice a long-term impact. For instance, Qantas, which was a key operator in Hong Kong, this week shared that it won't reopen its lounge at Hong Kong International after it returns to a more regular schedule next year. It is a completely new era, and airlines will continue to have a duty to be vigilant across their services.

What are your thoughts about Turkish Airlines and Philippine Airlines receiving these bans from Hong Kong? What do you make of the measures in place? Let us know what you think of the overall situation in the comment section.