Vietnamese stranded in HK airport for three months

Several visitors have been stuck for months at Hong Kong airport, with a Vietnamese stranded for three months after being caught by lockdowns in their home country because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Vietnamese left Canada in March and had hoped to catch a transit flight back to Vietnam, said Li Wing-foo, vice-chairman of the Staff and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines.

But he missed the return flight and failed to beat the deadline when Vietnam closed its borders on March 20 amid the pandemic and has been at Chek Lap Kok Airport since then.

A Cathay Pacific spokesman said restrictions on transit flights at Hong Kong airport were not in effect at that time in March, but the passenger's connecting flight to Vietnam was cancelled as Vietnam had already closed the border to international flights.

"Despite our discussions with the passenger, he has insisted on waiting for the next available flight to Vietnam and is reluctant to leave the airport," he said.

"The airline has also been trying to identify available seating for the passenger and has been providing assistance as appropriate."

Li said it is hard to know the number of people stranded at the airport as the restricted area is big and some seats are in hidden spots.

A spokesman for the Airport Authority could only confirm that several passengers were still stranded in the airport yesterday.

All the stranded visitors must stay in an isolated area to prevent them contacting other visitors and staff members, the spokesman said.

They are sent food by their airlines, and should return to where they came from. Virus tests would be conducted on these passengers.

But Li said the authority should inform staff of the exact location of the isolation area so they would not go in, as passengers can still go around the complex to restaurants and toilets.