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SIA prohibited from landing flights from Singapore in Hong Kong for two weeks

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 plane is seen parked on the tarmac at Changi International Airport in Singapore on October 24, 2020. (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP) (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 plane is seen parked on the tarmac at Changi International Airport in Singapore on October 24, 2020. (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP) (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE – Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been prohibited from landing any passenger flights from Singapore in Hong Kong from 3 to 16 April after a passenger on an SIA flight to the territory was confirmed to have COVID-19 and three others had flouted pandemic-related rules.

According to a press release issued by the Hong Kong government on Friday (2 April) evening, the Hong Kong Department of Health (DH) made the decision after flight SQ882 landed in Hong Kong from Singapore on 31 March.

It "had one passenger confirmed to have COVID-19 through specimen collected at the DH's Temporary Specimen Collection Centre, while three passengers failed to comply with requirements specified under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H)", the Hong Kong government said.

As of midnight on Friday, the Hong Kong government said there are 19 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the territory, taking the number of cases to 11,500.

In response to media queries from Yahoo News Singapore, an SIA spokesperson confirmed news of the flight suspension, adding that the passenger service from Hong Kong to Singapore is not affected.

"This comes after one transit passenger who travelled on board SQ882, and had a negative pre-departure test result, subsequently tested positive on arrival in Hong Kong. Three other transit passengers also had negative pre-departure test results. However their test documents were subsequently found to not have fully met the regulatory requirements of the Hong Kong authorities," the spokesperson said.

The health and safety of SIA's customers and staff is its top priority, the spokesperson added.

"SIA has taken immediate steps to strengthen checks at the point of embarkation to ensure that our customers are in compliance with Hong Kong’s regulatory requirements. We will also assist the health authorities in all contact tracing efforts related to this case."

SIA apologises to all affected customers and it is reaching out to them to offer all necessary assistance, the spokesperson said.

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