Japan, S Korea to lift cap on HK flights

Japan and South Korea have lifted flight restrictions that had previously caused airlines in Hong Kong to scrap hundreds of flights to the two popular Southeast Asian countries.

Since the end of December, the Japanese government imposed a limit on the number of flights each carrier can operate from Hong Kong to Japan. But the SAR government yesterday said it noted that such restrictions will be lifted from tomorrow.

The South Korean government has only allowed flights from Hong Kong to land at Incheon International Airport since January 10. The SAR government said this restriction will be canceled from tomorrow as well.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau wrote on Facebook that the Civil Aviation Department and the Airport Authority will provide assistance that will allow affected airlines to resume canceled flights soon and in an orderly manner.

"We welcome the decision made by the Japanese government to remove the maximum number of flights each carrier can operate from Hong Kong to Japan," a Cathay Pacific spokesman told The Standard.

"We plan to operate 83 flights per week into Japan in April and 94 flights per week in May - an increase from the 72 flights per week in March," the airline added.

HK Express said it "will continue to review its flight schedule based on the latest Japanese government measures and market conditions."

Japan from tomorrow will also ease its Covid restrictions on travelers from China, dropping the requirement of Covid test upon arrival.

Instead of blanket-testing travelers from the mainland, Japan will only test selected samples, although travelers will still need to show a negative test before flying to the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said yesterday.

Meanwhile, drivers who have applied for international circulation permits for mainland or Macau cross-boundary vehicles will have to wait at least seven working days as the Transport Department has a backlog of 6,000 applications since the border reopened.

The department said that the international circulation permit applications have significantly increased, along with the number of Closed Road Permit applications by local cross-boundary vehicles that surged from a daily average of 300 applications in January to 800 applications recently, resulting in a backlog.

To facilitate the travel of Hongkongers between the mainland and Macau, the department said it will deploy manpower and resources to speed up the processing time of International Circulation Permit applications from today to at least seven working days.

The department reminds applicants to prepare copies of the required documents in advance and leave a contact number to avoid delays.

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com