News Desk : dhakamirror.com
In an effort to revive its Covid-hit tourism sector, Hong Kong says it would give away 500,000 airline tickets worth HK$2bn ($254.8m; £224.3m).
Several of the city’s coronavirus rules have recently been eased. However, major airlines are working hard to get their flight schedules back to where they were before the outbreak.
The situation in Ukraine has caused complications for British airline Virgin Atlantic, which announced on Wednesday that it will stop operating in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board’s executive director, Dane Cheng, said, “The agreement with the airline companies will be finalized by the airport authority. We’ll launch the advertising campaigns for the complimentary tickets as soon as the government declares that it will abolish all Covid-19 limitations for incoming travelers.”
The complimentary tickets, which were purchased to help Hong Kong Airlines during the epidemic, would be given out to inbound and outbound travellers by the city’s airport authority the following year, Mr Cheng stated.
After 30 years in the Asian aviation hub, Virgin Atlantic said it will shut down its Hong Kong headquarters and stop operating flights between the city and London Heathrow.
Due to its adherence to China’s zero Covid regulations, Hong Kong had some of the strictest laws in the whole world until recently. The Hong Kong government said last month that it will no longer require visitors to the city to undergo hotel quarantine or to demonstrate a negative Covid test before boarding flights to Hong Kong.
Currently, three days after arriving, travelers must perform to examine themselves for any possible diseases. The announcement caused a spike in demand for flights to and from Hong Kong.
– Input from Agencies was used in this article
