ICN
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Old fella
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ICN
Noticed on FlightRadar24 that all AC flights to Hong Kong and back are through Seoul. I always though there were direct flights , is this for specific operational reasons or more Geo-Political reason because of behaviour from China.
Re: ICN
Plenty of articles online detailing this, it's all due to covid rules. They've been stopping in ICN since September
https://simpleflying.com/air-canada-hon ... light-ban/
HK also recently banned transit from 150 plus countries
https://simpleflying.com/hong-kong-conn ... enger-ban/
and pax from Canada even got banned from entering HK
https://simpleflying.com/hong-kong-uk-u ... light-ban/
Re: ICN
So you can just do turns out of Korea and not do layovers in China. Some crew tested positive and got locked up in a Chinese detention facility - 1 guy for 3 weeks. And it wasn’t exactly 5 star accommodations from what I heard.
Let’s Go Brandon
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Hotoffthepress
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Re: ICN
Air Canada flying to HKG via ICN was to prevent crew from potentially being stranded. Initially it was a direct flight from Canada to Hong Kong, however crew members were at risk of being shipped to quarantine for 3 weeks with a positive test result.
Quick summary: Hong Kong has the most stringent quarantine requirements based on politics.
For passengers you must be fully vaccinated and have a negative PCR test 2 days prior to the flight. The test must be conducted by a government approved laboratory (ISO15189). Cathay themselves for some destinations have increased the testing requirement to 1 day prior, to help reduce the chance of being banned by the government. Passengers also need to have booked 3 weeks in the quarantine hotel, reservations are to be made themselves and will not receive any assistance from the government.
Upon arrival, you will be subject PCR test. Should you test negative, 3 weeks in quarantine. Should you test positive, straight to Penny's Bay which is the government facilities for quarantining. If you test positive within your quarantine period or within 9 days post quarantine, straight to the Covid hospital for quarantining for a minimum of 2 weeks until your Covid level reaches a certain point.
For Aircrew, they were initially exempt from the quarantine requirements to keep the cargo business afloat - Just don't leave your hotel room until the reporting for the next duty. (For those based in HKG, 3 days self isolation at home or until next duty)
Unfortunately despite being vaccinated and asymptomatic, crew were testing positive from different airlines. British Airways crew tested positive and those that were identified as being close contact (all) all shipped off to Penny's Bay. UK government (Boris the animal) had to intervene and formally bail them out, as the airline/government was angry that they couldn't just cancel the return flight to LHR and fly empty getting the crew out. Worked the first time, but the second time the British Airways crew tested positive they were stuck in Penny's Bay. Same happened to a few other airlines including Air Canada. Crew were stranded with the A/C being stuck in HKG. Eventually British Airways stopped flying to HKG because the government policies were ridiculous along with the Muricans.
The shift to ICN was to turn HKG into a quick turn around flight and prevent the crew from officially deboarding the A/C.
Quick summary: Hong Kong has the most stringent quarantine requirements based on politics.
For passengers you must be fully vaccinated and have a negative PCR test 2 days prior to the flight. The test must be conducted by a government approved laboratory (ISO15189). Cathay themselves for some destinations have increased the testing requirement to 1 day prior, to help reduce the chance of being banned by the government. Passengers also need to have booked 3 weeks in the quarantine hotel, reservations are to be made themselves and will not receive any assistance from the government.
Upon arrival, you will be subject PCR test. Should you test negative, 3 weeks in quarantine. Should you test positive, straight to Penny's Bay which is the government facilities for quarantining. If you test positive within your quarantine period or within 9 days post quarantine, straight to the Covid hospital for quarantining for a minimum of 2 weeks until your Covid level reaches a certain point.
For Aircrew, they were initially exempt from the quarantine requirements to keep the cargo business afloat - Just don't leave your hotel room until the reporting for the next duty. (For those based in HKG, 3 days self isolation at home or until next duty)
Unfortunately despite being vaccinated and asymptomatic, crew were testing positive from different airlines. British Airways crew tested positive and those that were identified as being close contact (all) all shipped off to Penny's Bay. UK government (Boris the animal) had to intervene and formally bail them out, as the airline/government was angry that they couldn't just cancel the return flight to LHR and fly empty getting the crew out. Worked the first time, but the second time the British Airways crew tested positive they were stuck in Penny's Bay. Same happened to a few other airlines including Air Canada. Crew were stranded with the A/C being stuck in HKG. Eventually British Airways stopped flying to HKG because the government policies were ridiculous along with the Muricans.
The shift to ICN was to turn HKG into a quick turn around flight and prevent the crew from officially deboarding the A/C.
