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Hong Kong bans Air India flights, citing ‘unreliable’ Covid-19 testing
Air India has been banned from flying to Hong Kong for two weeks due to concern over ‘unreliable’ Covid-19 tests for passengers.
The HK government took action after 11 passengers tested positive on an inbound repatriation flight from Delhi a week ago.
The government invoked its emergency public health regulations for the first time in banning the Indian flag carrier.
Mainland China has specific penalties for airlines which carry infected passengers but Hong Kong does not.
"The fact 11 passengers tested positive on the same flight shows the lab tests back in India are not very reliable," a government source told the South China Morning Post.
The HK government requires a declaration from India that labs handling coronavirus test results have been approved.
According to HK immigration officials there are still more than 6,000 citizens stranded in India.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Pacific editor
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TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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