The reopening of connecting flights at Hong Kong airport in June was a joyous news for those who had been blocked by the outbreak. But who once thought that after more than a dozen hours of plane landing in Hong Kong, they were caught in trouble because of the transfer chaos, stranded in Hong Kong airport restricted area.
An international flight from Britain to Hong Kong landed on June 13. Ms. Liu, a Guangdong passenger with a Chinese passport, thought she could transfer via Hong Kong to Zhuhai, two hours away from the sea. But now has been in Hong Kong airport restricted area 20 days (as of July 2).
she updates the stranded airport daily on social media social app. She asked for help in the social app :" China citizen, Hong Kong, China are not allowed in! What to do! What to do! What to do! "
As of July 2, Hong Kong's epidemic prevention policy and transit policy do not support foreign transfers to China mainland, only support foreign transfers to foreign countries. Ms. liu is not a hong kong resident, according to hong kong media "hong kong 01". Since march 23, hong kong has banned non- hong kong residents from entering the country. In the early days of her stay, she said that only airline staff gave herself bottled water and biscuits and she had five days to eat. A stranger then delivered his lunch, biscuit, drink and mask; she had slept in a chair, but later someone had removed it, so she could only sleep on the floor, although she was later given a blanket, but because of the cold rash.
Like Ms. Liu ,11 Chinese passengers from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, flew to Hong Kong. They set out from Dubai and arrived at the Hong Kong airport on the evening of June 20, hoping to transfer to the mainland through Hong Kong. They initially refused to be sent back to Dubai. However ,26 people on the same flight were confirmed Coronavirus, five days after their stay at the airport, they were sent to quarantine center in hong kong, the isolation will end on july 4, after the end, is expected to be returned to dubai on july 6.
According to Hong Kong 01, one of the passengers said that after being sent back to Dubai, people without a local long-term visa also faced difficulties in staying at Dubai airport.
Accused airlines
The Chinese passenger's original Weibo name was "Swagger ," and she wrote an article entitled" What is the experience of being sent back to Dubai after five days of isolation at Hong Kong Airport as a Chinese citizen ". In the article, she said, because of the serious illness of her family, visit the heart, not easy to buy tickets, but was refused entry, stranded at Hong Kong Airport.
In her article, she acknowledged that she was not aware of the "complex transit policy ", but she criticized Emirates airline staff for not reminding them of the transit arrangements at their destination before boarding, let alone checking whether they qualify for entry or transit at their destination. "Rage" points responsibility to airlines.
Lei Zheng, president of the Independent Think Tank "International Aviation Research Institute, told The British Broadcasting Corporation journalist that the main reason for the current predicament was airlines. He pointed out that before the outbreak, airlines were also obliged to verify that passengers' passports and visas were allowed to travel to their final destination. During the outbreak, airlines also need to know the latest guidelines for transit and final destinations.
"This is a necessary procedure for the airline industry and a necessary responsibility and obligation for airlines ," he said. "
Faced with media pressure and the plight of stranded passengers, the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKIA) announced that from July 1, any airline will not be authorities by the destination to accept incoming transit passengers to Hong Kong International Airport, if the airline serious violations, the flight can face suspension of Hong Kong transit service, the airline must bear all the related costs.
For help ," angry shake "in the text said many times to help the United Office, the other party initially replied :" One country, two systems, Hong Kong people rule Hong Kong, Hong Kong government regulations, difficult to intervene. "
Among the reasons for the airport's stay is that Hong Kong has not reopened services to mainland cities.
"Considering nothing about how our visa-free Chinese citizen can survive in Dubai's transit zone, this is a highly irresponsible attitude and an inhuman conscience ," she said. "
She and Ms. Liu both believe that Chinese citizen should be & quot; deported & returned to China instead of returning to the point of departure without a long-term valid visa.
Lei Zheng told The British Broadcasting Corporation journalist, strictly speaking not to call repatriation, because passengers are not illegal. It just doesn't meet the conditions of connecting to China via Hong Kong. So you need to return to the point of departure according to (air) regulations.
However, in his view, it is necessary to look at specific cases where there is no valid visa from the point of departure and there is no way to return to the point of departure. Can the Chinese government find a way to take her home based on special circumstances.
Both stranded passengers mentioned that the Chinese government had not shown a positive attitude towards resolving the detention problem. Lei Zheng said China's authorities may also face a dilemma. If they let these people in, a lot of people will follow their example.
"So I think they're taking into account this difficulty, or they would n' t have put a dozen people in quarantine for a while. If many follow suit, China's existing epidemic prevention policy may not be implemented. "
"Anger" later deleted the blog post, modified Weibo's name, and issued a personal statement on Weibo: "I proceeded from the big picture, I believe that the motherland and the embassy will definitely help us return to the motherland of the motherland, and hereby delete the previous immature remarks. The mother was seriously ill and eager to go home. She failed to correctly understand the transfer policy before boarding, resulting in detention and willingness to take personal responsibility."
"Flutter" rejected The British Broadcasting Corporation journalist interview request.
The controversial "five ones"
The global epidemic has led to a sharp decline in round-trip flights between China and the United States. American Airlines flights to China were stopped at one point. On 26 March, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the "Notice on the Continued Reduction of International Passenger Flights during the Epidemic Prevention and Control Period ", which is referred to as the" Five-One "policy, namely :" A Department of Aviation can only travel to one point in a country only one flight per week ".
After the implementation of the "Five One" policy, a large number of overseas Chinese were prevented from returning to China by air tickets. At one point, the official Weibo of CAAC shut down the comment area.
Even if China relaxed restrictions later and resumed more Chinese-US flights, it still failed to meet the return needs of a large number of overseas Chinese nationals.
Lei Zheng believes that a comprehensive review of China's "Five One" policy is needed to address the fundamental approach to the plight of passengers stranded at Hong Kong airports.
"I think there's a better way than" five ones. Are to allocate according to needs, according to overseas Chinese citizen number and demand to allocate flights reasonably. "
He explained that weekly traffic is now less than 10% in the same period last year. If the 10% limit is set, the u.s. and europe can fly more flights, and some countries can fly less. This may ease the current predicament slightly.
Back to Point?
On July 1, three Chinese passengers stranded at Hong Kong airport returned to their point of departure. There are still three passengers stranded at the airport waiting for arrangements in the exclusion zone. A special washroom is not allowed to leave the area at will. The airline is responsible for providing food and blankets to stranded passengers.
Ms. liu, who flew from britain, has been stranded at hong kong airport for 20 days. At social app she said she had high blood pressure, high blood sugar and heart disease, and that her 90-year-old mother was dying to spend her last time with her mother, and she begged the authorities to allow her to go home treatment.
"government have a responsibility to let Chinese citizen overseas return home ," Lei said. On a case-by-case basis, I feel that the Chinese government should now take such responsibility and take them back. "
He suggested that the airline should be more severe penalties, the follow-up let the airline close, can not allow unqualified passengers to re-board. If airlines can plug the problem at the source, government don't have to worry about a lot of people following them.
