Hong Kong will be lifting on April 1 the earlier flight ban it implemented from nine countries — including the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) —  as part of measures to ease its strict Covid-19 restrictions.

The rollback of its stringent rules earlier implemented to combat the spread of the Omicron variant in the city is expected to bode well for the hub's aviation and supply chain sectors with bellyhold and cargo capacity boost from flights coming in and out of the places earlier placed on flight suspension.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on March 21 that from April 1, the  Hong Kong government will lift the flight ban on nine countries and cut the hotel quarantine period for arrivals.

Currently, under the place-specific flight suspension mechanism, passenger aircraft from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK, the US, and Nepal are not allowed to land in Hong Kong.

Lam said the suspension is "out of time" and causing distress to Hong Kong people stranded overseas.

"The situation [in these countries] aren't as bad as Hong Kong's," Lam said, adding that it will bring inconvenience to Hong Kong locals stuck in these nine countries.

Easing of quarantine requirement

The stringent quarantine requirements imposed on arrivals than local Covid-19 patients or close contacts have also affected the city's business environment, Lam said.

With this, starting next month, Hong Kong will reduce mandatory quarantine for returning residents to seven days —  as the financial hub buckles under the weight of its "zero-covid" policy.

Meanwhile, only fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents will be allowed to enter the city, and arriving residents from countries other than mainland China will need to quarantine in a hotel room for seven days, down from 14.

The latest measures are the moves to reopen the borders of Hong Kong which have been largely closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of Monday, total Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong surpassed a million (out of its estimated 7.5 million population). The financial hub has also recorded 5,896 deaths in the worst wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the city.

One-off subsidy for truck drivers

Meanwhile, Hong Kong also announced its plans to post crossed cheques of HK$10,000 each in a one-off non-accountable subsidy to eligible Hong Kong cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers starting next month in a bid to assist truck drivers who have been impacted by cross-border Covid measures implemented.

Hong Kong's Transport Department said about 11,000 cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers are expected to benefit from this program.