HONG KONG, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Hong Kong has asked Japan to lift a COVID-19 restriction that allows passenger flights from the financial center to land at only four designated airports, saying the decision would affect about 60,000 passengers.
India, Italy, Taiwan and the United States are demanding mandatory COVID-19 tests for travelers from China following Beijing’s decision last month to lift strict zero-Covid policies that fueled a surge in infections across mainland China.
Hong Kong, home to more than 7 million people, is recording about 20,000 cases of the coronavirus a day, but lifted its COVID restrictions on Thursday for the first time in three years.
Japan, a major travel destination for those in Hong Kong, said it would restrict flights from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China to Tokyo’s two airports, as well as Osaka and Nagoya, from Friday.
The decision comes during a peak travel season ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday that begins on January 21.
“It is understood that approximately 250 outbound Hong Kong Airlines flights will be affected from December 30, 2022 to the end of January 2023, affecting approximately 60,000 passengers,” the government said in a statement late Wednesday.
City leader John Lee said the government had shown Japan it was disappointed.
“We think Hong Kong people should be allowed to use more than just these four airports,” Lee said.
On Thursday, the Hong Kong government said Japan would allow passenger flights from Hong Kong to also land in Hokkaido, Fukuoka and Okinawa provided no passengers on board had been in the Chinese territory for the previous seven days, but said the condition was “unreasonable”.
Hong Kong Airlines flights can still carry passengers to Hong Kong from airports in Japan, the government said, to ensure their smooth return and “minimize the impact on Hong Kong travelers caused by the incident”.
In a statement, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways ( 0293.HK ) said it would continue to operate flights to Japan, although it would reduce them to 65 a week, down 20% from the January schedule 2023.
HK Express, which is owned by Cathay, said in a separate statement that it would only be able to operate 60 scheduled flights a week to destinations in Japan due to the restrictions, causing the cancellation of 41 flights from Hong Kong. in Japan in January.
Hong Kong Airlines and Peach Aviation said they would cancel some routes due to the rules.
In December, China began dismantling the world’s strictest COVID regime of lockdowns and widespread testing, putting its battered economy on track for a full reopening next year.
The lifting of borders after widespread protests has meant that COVID is spreading largely unchecked, possibly infecting millions of people every day, some international health experts have said.
Reporting by Farah Master and Twinnie Siu; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Stephen Coates
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