EuroCham urges HK govt to scrap flight suspension mechanism and quarantine measures

Hong Kong is gradually relaxing its pandemic control measures but foreign businesses continue to urge the government to drop the "circuit breaker" rule which suspends an air route when an aircraft brings in too many infected passengers. In a letter to chief executive Carrie Lam, the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (EuroCham) said serious concerns remain among the international business community in the city, despite the Hong Kong government announcing the relaxation of travel restrictions in late April.

The chamber has mentioned several situations among the international business community in the city. For example, the Hong Kong government launched the "circuit breaker" mechanism to suspend air routes carrying too many infected passengers, leading to the fact that the number of travellers that struggle to return to the city is increasing due to the continuous cancellation of flights.

"Almost daily, our members and other residents have been reporting that they are unable to find their way back to Hong Kong or see their business travel being cancelled. Scaling back the flight suspension threshold from three to five or 5% of the total number of passengers is unlikely to significantly improve the connectivity and accessibility of our city – seriously undermining the status of Hong Kong as an international business centre," said Frederik Gollob, chairman of EuroCham.

He added, "Many of us are giving up. Many European carriers that had significant operations in Hong Kong are waiting for the circuit breaker mechanisms to be lifted before resuming operations to the city."

The chamber also requested the Hong Kong government to allow returning Hong Kong residents to self-monitor at home for four days, which is an average incubation period for the current Omicron variant, and continue testing for up to seven days.

Currently, inbound travellers and Hong Kong citizens are required to spend at least seven days in hotel quarantine. However, residents who test positive with mild or no symptoms are able to self-isolate at home. "As a significant fraction of the Hong Kong population is likely to have reached herd immunity, it is difficult to find a reason why incoming travellers who test negative are considered a higher risk," said Gollob.

Moreover, the chamber also requested the Hong Kong government to cancel the "circuit breaker" system and lift all quarantine measures on arrival to Hong Kong immediately.

In March, EuroCham published a study, unveiling that only 17% of businesses from Europe in Hong Kong had no plans to leave the city in the upcoming 12 months, while it believed that the ongoing Zero-Covid strategy had taken a toll on Hong Kong's business community.

According to EuroCham's recent survey "Impact of COVID-19 on the Business Community", 25% of respondents said they will close their operations in Hong Kong in the upcoming 12 months, and 24% said they will partially relocate their business to other cities. Only 17% said they will remain in the city, with the remaining 34% saying they were unsure about their future.

The study has also delved into the impact of the pandemic on talent acquisition and retention. To assess their responses, EuroCham used a five-point Likert scale to study their sentiment, in which "5" denotes the highest level of turnover. A total of 35% of respondents said they had encountered high staff turnover in their companies, with 16% and 19% giving the score of "5" and "4" respectively.

To understand more about this trend, EuroCham asked its respondents to share additional data on the number or percentage of staff who had decided to leave either their company or Hong Kong due to quarantine or other restrictions related to the pandemic. Around 40% of respondents said "quarantine, travel restrictions, and not being able to see the family" were the major reasons for the difficulties in bringing talent to Hong Kong from overseas countries. In addition to this concern, 12% said social distancing measures and school closures hampered them to attract talent.

(Photo courtesy: 123rf)

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