London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

Stranded Hongkongers welcome decision to lift ban on arrivals from Britain

Stranded Hongkongers welcome decision to lift ban on arrivals from Britain

Chief Executive Carrie Lam says city residents will be allowed to fly back on any Hong Kong-bound flights from Britain from early May.

Hong Kong residents stranded in Britain have welcomed a government decision to lift the city’s coronavirus-related ban on arrivals from the country starting in May, a move which will make it easier for them to finally return home after months abroad.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said city residents would be allowed to return on any Hong Kong-bound flights from Britain as long as they were able to secure an air ticket and a hotel room for compulsory quarantine upon arrival.

However, the period of mandatory quarantine would remain unchanged at 21 days, she said.

“We are lifting the flight ban. There’s no need for people to take designated flights, they can take any flight from London to Hong Kong. They just need to make their own arrangements to book flights and hotels to come back,” Lam said. “We know many Hong Kong residents are keen to come back.”

The inbound-flight ban, which was imposed in late December as a mutant coronavirus strain emerged in Britain, has left about 1,000 Hongkongers stranded in the country.

When Lam partially relaxed the ban last month by allowing city residents to return home on two designated Cathay Pacific flights on April 21 and 28, there was a dogfight over the 600 tickets up for grabs and many people were unable to buy one.

Callan Anderson, who has tried to reschedule his journey back to Hong Kong 11 times since January, said booking a seat on the government-arranged flights was like “a mad rush lottery”.

“I’ll be staying up all night to book the first flight back, no matter what it takes,” Anderson said.

He said the government should have lifted the flight ban so people did not have to fight for a ticket.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam.


“Let us find our way home. I don’t need a government-approved flight, as soon as the government says they’re opening up, airlines will start flying to Hong Kong,” Anderson, a Hong Kong resident for 21 years, said.

Stranded politician Anthony Sheik Bux, who has been helping residents with their return journey, said lifting the flight ban was a big relief for many stressed-out travellers.

Due to a health condition, Bux announced his resignation as Kwun Tong district councillor while stranded in Britain, effective on June 1.

He had expected to undergo surgery in February but it was pushed back to May and he had been looking for ways to get to Hong Kong for the procedure.

“I will have my surgery at United Christian Hospital [in Hong Kong] in May, and my wife wants me to go back to the UK so she can look after me. But I have not decided yet,” he said.

SL Chung, whose wife has been in Britain since September, said flight arrangements could have been better coordinated.

“I was put on hold for more than an hour on the phone, but finally I managed to get on the line,” he said.

Hong Kong is the only place in the world with a 21-day compulsory hotel quarantine for arrivals.


Chung was able to book a seat on the April 21 flight. His wife originally planned to return to Hong Kong last December after helping their daughter settle in Britain.

“Since the lifting of the ban would have been arranged soon anyway, the two special flights were not really too helpful. They instead created chaos and anxiety for people [who were trying to get a ticket],” he said.

Hong Kong, the only place in the world with a 21-day compulsory hotel quarantine for arrivals, on Monday looked set to ease some of its strict restrictions.

For fully vaccinated people arriving from low-risk areas, such as Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, the quarantine period could be reduced from the current 14 days to seven days or even shorter.

Those who received two doses of vaccines and are arriving from medium-risk countries could also have their quarantine period cut from 21 days to 14 days or less.

However, Lam did not specify when the arrangements would come into effect, only stating that details would be announced in due course.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×