Since 1 July, Cathay Pacific has suspended flights from Hong Kong to the UK.
According to Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong government has classed the UK as extremely high risk so passengers flying in from the UK to Hong Kong will not be permitted into the country: stating that ‘‘passengers who have travelled for more than two hours in the past 21 days will be denied entry into Hong Kong.’’
Cathay Pacific’s Caution
This is not the first time Cathay Pacific has imposed travel restrictions. Back in December 2020 – January 2021 and again in April, travel between the UK and HK had been disrupted because of the pandemic. For now, Cathay Pacific has cancelled any Heathrow to Hong Kong connections. Indeed, airlines such as British Airways have stated that schedules are subject to change because of the coronavirus so it is advised that passengers check timetables before making any bookings.
Travel Restrictions on the Whole
Restrictions may have well been eased given the many discussions on the recovery of the travel market, for instance, this occurred during the G7 summit where talks between the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and U.S President, Joe Biden spoke about improving transatlantic connections. Indeed this was also evident during the first virtual Arabia Travel Market since the pandemic whereby countries such as China, Egypt and Dubai spoke of their ambitions to improve their businesses in the near future.
But with the coronavirus still at loom, it seems that caution and careful planning is the way forward for many airports, airlines and staff – as we see with British Airways and Cathay Pacific.
What do you think of travel restrictions for travel on the whole? Let us know in the comments below!
