British Airways to fly HK skies again

British Airways, which has been absent from Hong Kong skies for more than 12 months amid Covid restrictions, will be joining other airlines in a return to the SAR and offer a daily service by early December.

The British flag carrier has not made an official announcement on resuming flights, but its website shows a direct flight from Hong Kong to London Heathrow Airport has been scheduled on December 6 at 11.05pm with an economy ticket costing HK$6,495.

A nonstop flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong has been scheduled on December 7 at 5.50pm, UK time, with economy seats at 723 (HK$6,566).

According to airline schedules, it will have four flights from Hong Kong to London and four from London to Hong Kong weekly from December 6. It will then gradually increase to one flight a day between the two from December 20.

Air crew previously had to quarantine for three nights before returning home. The measure had resulted in many airlines including British Airways and another UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic, the third airline providing direct flights between London and Hong Kong, to suspend flights to the SAR.

But aircrew are now exempted from hotel quarantine and will be allowed to undergo a three-day medical surveillance from this Saturday.

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific, currently the only airline operating direct flights from Hong Kong to London, has already said it will "add back more flights as quickly as is feasible." Cathay also said the relaxed quarantine arrangement for aircrew will allow for more destinations to be reactivated. But the airline added: "It will still take time to rebuild our capacity [and] operational readiness and undertake a substantial amount of training and aircraft reactivation."

Virgin Atlantic extended suspension of its London to Hong Kong flights to March next year instead of resuming service this month as planned because of "operational complexities."

It is said Hong Kong authorities are mulling over a further relaxation of restrictions to allow overseas arrivals to observe seven days of medical surveillance and lift the compulsory hotel quarantine in November, when the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens and a financial summit will be staged.

But Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has remained tight-lipped on plans.

Earlier, Hong Kong's strict flight circuit-breaker to control importation of Covid cases brought headaches for airlines.

British Airways stopped direct flights between the United Kingdom and Hong Kong last November and Virgin did the same in December after it was slapped with flight suspension.

In January, SAR authorities introduced a flight ban in nine countries, including the United Kingdom, to guard against imported Covid amid a fifth local wave.

As local outbreaks eased the ban was lifted on April 1, but the much-criticized circuit-breaker remained in place.

Authorities eventually switched off the circuit-breaker on July 7.

Last month, authorities halved Covid hotel quarantine days for overseas arrivals to three with four days of medical surveillance during which they have limited freedom to move around.