Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday questioned Japan to eliminate restrictions on immediate flights from the town, which were imposed subsequent the explosion of coronavirus conditions in mainland China.
The city deployed similar curbs throughout its own fight towards Covid, including immediate bans on airways for carrying virus-favourable travellers and vacation constraints for nations with main outbreaks.
Japan grew to become one of the first nations to impose China-specific vacation limitations this 7 days as infections surged throughout the mainland subsequent the dismantling of Beijing’s zero-Covid approach.
They involve limiting immediate flights from Hong Kong to four airports — Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda, Kansai in Osaka and Nagoya’s Chubu.
Hong Kong’s transport department said Wednesday it was “greatly disappointed by Japanese authorities’ hasty final decision through the peak tourist season”.
The office mentioned it experienced contacted the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong to “solemnly request” a reversal of the final decision — which usually takes impact from Friday.
It additional that the impacted airways have been instructed they can still fly vacant planes to the limited airports to decide on up any stranded travellers in the coming days.
From Friday, Japan will also call for on-arrival virus checks for travellers from China, but that will not implement to travellers from Hong Kong and Macau.
Hong Kong experienced followed a variation of China’s zero-Covid policy and imposed some of the strictest journey curbs in the globe in the course of the pandemic, which remaining the organization hub isolated for additional than two yrs.
The town only began lifting limits not long ago, ending mandatory lodge quarantine for all arrivals in September.
Due to the fact then, vacation has surged as Hong Kongers clamour to get holiday seasons and stop by liked ones overseas.
Japan, which lifted its individual ban on international arrivals in Oct, has also seen a major spike in journey.
In May well this year, just 700 Hong Kong arrivals ended up recorded at airports in Japan. By November, that selection leapt to 83,000.
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