Hong Kong asks South Korea to remove ‘unreasonable’ flight restrictions after city caught in crossfire of row between Beijing and Seoul
- Flights from Hong Kong can only land at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport
- Chinese embassy in Seoul says it is suspending issuance of visas in retaliation over South Korea’s restrictions on mainland Chinese travellers
Hong Kong has asked South Korea to withdraw “unreasonable” restrictions that restrict flights from the city to only landing at Incheon International Airport in the capital after a row between Seoul and Beijing over Covid-19 travel curbs escalated.
Hong Kong authorities took to official channels on Tuesday after their South Korean counterparts announced the new measures earlier.
“The Hong Kong government has written to the Korean authority and liaised with the consulate general of Korea in Hong Kong to express our grave concern and strongly request the authority to withdraw the restriction concerned,” a government spokesman said, calling the ban “unreasonable”.
The Transport and Logistics Bureau reminded local airlines to tell affected travellers of the latest flight arrangements as soon as possible, and to provide them with necessary support and assistance.
The flight restrictions introduced by South Korea came to light on Tuesday after Beijing’s decision to suspend the issuance of short-term visas to arrivals from the country. The Korean consulate in Hong Kong, which originally did not make it clear when the rule was introduced, on Wednesday said the measure was rolled out on Monday, a day before mainland China’s move.
Official websites of airlines showed that all direct flights from Hong Kong to Jeju or Busan airports had been suspended. One-way flights to Seoul around the Lunar New Year had shot up to HK$4,000 ($512), or roughly double the non-peak prices.