London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Students stranded in Britain as Hong Kong bans arrivals to shut out mutated virus strain

Students stranded in Britain as Hong Kong bans arrivals to shut out mutated virus strain

Parents say family reunion plans have been ruined by the ban on all passenger flights from Britain from Tuesday.

Many Hong Kong parents will have to spend the festive season without their children by their side, as the city’s ban on flights from Britain could leave thousands of students stranded in the country.

Local parents on Monday said their family reunion plans had been ruined by the Hong Kong government’s latest ban on all passenger flights from Britain from Tuesday, a move aimed to prevent the import of what is believed to be a more virulent strain of the coronavirus from the country.

Anson Chung Cheuk-hang, a 23-year-old postgraduate student studying film in Guildford, a southern town in Surrey, had planned to fly back to Hong Kong on Wednesday. But now, he will have to cancel the flight ticket as well as bookings for the mandatory 14-day quarantine in a local hotel.

“My family is disappointed that I won’t be able to return now, but they understand the situation,” Chung said. “But we won’t panic here as supermarkets remain open and the locality is not running out of food.”


Many Hong Kong parents will have to spend the festive season without their children by their side.


Most of Surrey has been put under Tier Four restrictions, meaning residents are required to stay at home on Christmas and all non-essential shops, gyms and personal care services will remain shut.

Samuel Chan Sze-ming, founder of Hong Kong-based education consultancy Britannia StudyLink, said some students sought their advice on where to stay temporarily while stranded.

“Some landlords or host families had required students to move out of their residences during Christmas. Some junior students were puzzled as they were not sure how to deal with urgent requests seeking an extension of their stay,” he said, adding that the company received about 100 inquiries from Hongkongers after the travel ban was announced.

Chan said several thousand Hong Kong students, mainly enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, would remain stranded, adding that there were also some parents who had planned to return to the city after visiting their children there.

Iris Tsui said she planned to travel to Britain with her husband to visit their 18-year-old daughter, who is studying sociology in Birmingham, over Christmas. But she had to cancel their flights last month.

“I just miss her so much. My husband travelled to Britain with her in September, and I did not go because I thought I would see my daughter at Christmas,” Tsui said.


Passengers arrive at Hong Kong International Airport on Monday.


“It took her quite a while to adapt to life in Birmingham, and there’s this virus. So I’m also worried about her … But since last month, airlines started to cancel flights between Britain and Hong Kong, and we knew things were not going to improve this month, so we had to cancel our trip, too.”

The new variant of the coronavirus has spread quickly in London and southeast England, with the region taking up about a quarter of Britain’s population, according to estimates from Britannia StudyLink.

But Chan said Hong Kong students in the other regions would be able to join classes after the Christmas break.

An immigration consultant said the travel ban was likely to delay the emigration plans of Hongkongers who had the British National (Overseas) passport and hoped to be granted “Leave Outside the Rules”.

“Many of our clients hoped to leave Hong Kong for Britain as soon as possible availing this scheme, but the cancellations of outbound flights and the latest virus situation have forced them to put their plans on hold,” said Stefano Lee, sales manager at John Hu Migration Consulting.

Hong Kong resident Michael, who declined to give his surname, went to Britain in July to prepare for his family’s emigration.

“My original plan was to come back during Christmas to pack up and complete the final relocation with my wife and son,” said the grammar school teacher, who is now in his 40s.

“[My flight] got cancelled … in November. I was thinking of rescheduling [the ticket] but then finally decided not to come back.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×