Emirates suspends Hong Kong flights indefinitely

Emirates has suspended all flights into and out of Hong Kong.

Emirates has suspended flights into and out of Hong Kong until further notice.

The carrier cited ‘operational reasons’ for the decision, with plans to resume the service "subject to review".

“We remain committed to serving our customers in Hong Kong and are working hard to resume services as soon as possible,” read a statement issued by the airline. Passengers affected by the suspension are asked to contact Emirates or their travel agent to re-book.

In July, Hong Kong caused ripples in the airline industry by introducing mandatory testing for aircrew. The new regulations led to United Airlines suspending its services to the city while it assessed how the rules would impact future operations. KLM rerouted its Amsterdam to Hong Kong service via Bangkok, a move which, according to sources, was made to ensure crews did not have to stay overnight in Hong Kong and undergo testing.

Emirates also announced that it will be launching A380 passenger flights to Guangzhou from August 8. Daily A380 operations to Amsterdam and Paris also resumed this week, as well as four flights a week to Cairo and a second, daily A380 service to London’s Heathrow Airport.

The carrier aims to expand its passenger services to 70 destinations in August, which is 50% of its pre-pandemic network. So far, it has restarted flights to Addis Ababa, Clark, Dar Es Salaam, Nairobi, Prague, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Seychelles and Kuwait City. Flights to Lisbon will resume on August 16.

Emirates' hub airport in Dubai is open to international arrivals, although COVID-19 PCR testing is mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving in the United Arab Emirates, irrespective of where they have travelled from.