Hong Kong is to ban all flights from the UK in an attempt to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant. The ban comes into effect from July 1, 2021.
All flights from the UK will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong from July 1, and anyone who has been in or visited the UK for more than two hours in the past 21 days will be denied entry to the country. This includes those transiting, if they disembark the aircraft.
The travel ban comes as Hong Kong has deemed the UK to be an “extremely high-risk” country when it comes to the spreading of the coronavirus. Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa are also categorised as “extremely high risk” countries.
Anyone due to travel to Hong Kong in the coming weeks should contact their tour operator to discuss their options. In most cases, airlines and travel agents will be responsible for providing travellers with a full refund or moving the trip to a later date, as flights from the UK are banned from landing in Hong Kong.
It’s also worth being aware that should British travellers arrive in Hong Kong via a different route and be denied entry into the country, they will not be able to claim back any travel costs from their travel insurance provider, as the majority of insures do not offer cover for denied entry.
Any British travellers returning from Hong Kong will also be required to isolate for 10 days upon their return, taking a Covid-19 test on days 2 and 8 of their quarantine period, as Hong Kong is currently on the UK’s ‘amber list’.
