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Coronavirus pandemic
AsiaSouth Asia

Singapore and Hong Kong on their own as global travel rebounds from Covid-19

  • Hong Kong and Singapore are being shunned as travellers seek to avoid weeks in hotel isolation, testing
  • Flying in Europe and US will surpass 75 per cent and 86 per cent of pre-pandemic levels next month

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Indonesia is opening the resort island of Bali to foreign travelers from all countries, as international flights resumed for the first time in two years earlier this month — but mandatory quarantines remain in place for all visitors. Photo: AP
Bloomberg

A global travel divide is deepening as some countries ditch Covid-19 restrictions including quarantines, isolation and even mandatory testing for good, while others cling to years-old curbs.

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Lingering barriers to travel in Asia in particular are isolating the region and its tourism-reliant economies, just as the recovery in Europe and the United States accelerates. In Britain, authorities are dumping unpopular preflight tests and now only require proof of vaccination as they strive to normalise international air traffic.
The marquee transit hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore are being shunned as travellers seek to avoid weeks in hotel isolation on arrival or a raft of testing swabs.

Airlines, which before the pandemic operated about 30,000 flights a month to the two Asian gateways, have slashed that number to just 4,514 in February, according to aviation data company Cirium.

There’s little prospect of immediate change. Hong Kong – which quarantines overseas arrivals for as long as 14 days, and effectively bars flights from an array of countries deemed to be high risk – is sticking to a goal of eliminating the virus even as cases in the community surge. Last week, authorities there tightened restrictions even further, extending gathering limits to private premises for the first time.

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