Hong Kong falls ‘off the map’ as aviation hub

Bloomberg

Hong Kong has ceased to function as an international aviation hub as it curbs inbound flights and quarantines arriving passengers, according to a trade group representing hundreds of airlines worldwide.
“It’s effectively off the map now, and I think it’s going to be difficult for Hong Kong to recover,” Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said. “It’s going to lag significantly behind the recovery that we’re seeing elsewhere and has led to a tough time for all airlines operating there.”
Even the city’s shortened isolation requirements for arriving passengers — quarantine was halved to one week this month — will deter travellers, Walsh said. The IATA chief said that with much of the rest of Asia reopening he remained optimistic Hong Kong could start to relax its border restrictions.
However, Hong Kong is still banning flights even after rolling back some of the world’s strictest inbound travel curbs.