Passenger flights from Britain and Ireland to Hong Kong will resume on Friday, lifting a ban imposed more than four months ago to guard against more transmissible coronavirus variants.
Hong Kong authorities announced on Tuesday that it would no longer be categorised as “extremely high risk” for the coronavirus, and would instead be classified “very high risk”.
The inbound-flight ban took effect on December 22 as a mutant variant emerged in Britain. The embargo left an estimated 1,000 Hongkongers stranded in the country.
Previously, authorities barred anyone who had been in Britain for more than two hours in a 21-day window from boarding flights to Hong Kong.
The government earlier arranged two designated flights from London on April 21 and 28 to bring back residents who had stayed in extremely high-risk countries, which included Brazil, South Africa and Ireland.
Stranded city residents will be allowed to return on any Hong Kong-bound flights from Britain as long as they are able to secure an air ticket and a hotel room for compulsory 21-day hotel quarantine upon arrival.
They must also produce a negative Covid-19 test result obtained within 72 hours of departure.
