Airlines in Hong Kong have been told that crew working on non-mainland China passenger flights will lose all quarantine-related exemptions effective midnight on Wednesday. The government told airlines of the latest changes to its coronavirus rules earlier on Wednesday, going much further than the previous day when it instructed aircrew operating cargo flights to quarantine in a hotel for the first three days after returning to Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific is already at risk of widespread flight cancellations in the coming days, as it is unable to secure enough hotel rooms to accommodate the new government rules. A Cathay Pacific spokeswoman said: “The further tightening of crew quarantine restrictions continues to constrain our ability to operate flights as planned. We are consolidating our passenger flight schedule for January 2022.” Among the significant changes, all non-mainland flights to and from Hong Kong must be operated by closed-loop aircrew, who will be required to spend up to two weeks in quarantine. This means even regional passenger services cannot be operated as “turnaround” flights without staff stepping foot off the plane at the destination. Under that rule, passenger aircrew could isolate at home. Cathay operates many of its long-haul services under a closed loop – which will be extended to Asian flights – further placing stress on the beleaguered carrier.<br/>