AirAsia Philippines to resume flights to Hong Kong despite Omicron threat

AirAsia Philippines is pushing through with the resumption of its flights going to and from Hong Kong later this week despite the threat posed by the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

In a statement, the budget carrier reassured passengers with “the highest standards of safety in place and strict observance of established health protocols” amid the emergence of Omicron —a new variant of concern according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

AirAsia said it would launch bi-weekly flights beginning December 5 via Z2 1264,  which is scheduled to depart at the NAIA Terminal 3 at 8:35 a.m. and is expected to arrive in Hong Kong at 10:55 a.m.

Its return flight to Manila, Z2 1265, will depart at 11:45 a.m. and is expected to land at the NAIA Terminal 3 at 2 p.m.

“Almost two years into the pandemic, AirAsia believes that our guests have already developed the culture of readiness and safety that is strictly observed across all touchpoints of the customer journey. We will closely monitor the situation and will continue to abide by the guidelines set by the government,” said AirAsia Philippines spokesperson Steve Dailisan.

“Our return to Hong Kong signifies our commitment to service our business travelers and overseas Filipino workers who have been wanting to come home to the Philippines for the upcoming holiday season. However, there should be no room for complacency,” he added.

AirAsia said Hong Kong has only banned non-residents from Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel and Italy where the Omicron variant has been detected.

The Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau has also confirmed that the three imported Omicron cases were already contained.

The airline noted that experts and scientific research suggest that COVID-19 transmission onboard an aircraft is zero to none.

“All AirAsia aircraft are equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters which kill up to 99.9% of viruses including COVID-19,” Dailisan said.

“On top of that, our flying crew are also 100% fully vaccinated against the virus.  We also conduct thorough aircraft cabin cleaning and sanitation after each flight,” he added.

To date, the Philippines remains safe from the Omicron variant and has logged less than 600 average daily infections in a seven-day period.

Arriving fully vaccinated guests from countries under the “green and yellow list” must present a proof of vaccination and a negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to departure.

Unvaccinated guests will be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day and should monitor themselves for symptoms until the 14th day of their arrival. — VBL, GMA News