Covid: BA suspends flights to Hong Kong amid crew quarantine
British Airways has suspended flights to Hong Kong after more crew members were reportedly quarantined at the government center.
BA has confirmed that they have temporarily suspended flights "while we are reviewing operational requirements for this route."
The South China Morning Post reported that a BA team member tested positive for Covid, which resulted in most of the crew being sent to quarantine camps. A similar incident occurred last week.
In this case, a pilot from BA tested positive for the virus on November 20. The pilot and other crew, classified as "close contacts," were sent to Penny's quarantine center in Hong Kong. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Ministry of Health told the South China Morning Post that this crew member had returned to the UK. It comes amid concerns about a new version of Covid, Omicron, whose cases have been found in locations including the UK and Hong Kong.
Commenting on the recent actions taken against its crew, BA said: "We support the team currently isolated in Hong Kong. "We operate according to the local regulations for each country we fly to, and we always put the safety and well-being of our teams and customers at the center of everything we do.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific had to cancel several passenger flights in December due to staff shortages. The airline operates a "closed-loop" system, meaning that airline crew working three-week shifts must stay in their hotel rooms between flights before entering a 14-day quarantine upon their return. Hong Kong is pursuing a zero-case Covid policy to open its border with mainland China.
BA said, "We apologize to our customers whose travel plans have been disrupted and will be contacting you to inform them of options." The suspension of flights from BA to Hong Kong follows the rest of air traffic in six South African countries following the discovery of the Omicron option.
BA and Virgin Atlantic canceled flights between Friday noon and 4:00 am on Sunday after the interim government banned travel from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini.