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British Airways has scrapped flights to Hong Kong until March as the territory further tightens aircrew quarantine restrictions to contain the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant. The earliest available flights from London to Hong Kong are from March 1, according to a search on the carrier’s website. The carrier had previously temporarily suspended services to Hong Kong at the end of November after one employee tested positive for Covid-19 and staff were sent into quarantine. On Wednesday, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways said it will make “significant” changes to its flight schedule from now through the first quarter of 2022, and only operate a skeletal service in January. “Like other airlines, due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic we are operating a reduced and dynamic schedule,” a spokesman for BA said. “We apologize to customers whose travel plans are disrupted.” The nascent recovery of international air travel has been frustrated over the usually busy Christmas holiday season as countries across the world rapidly bring back travel restrictions and quarantine measures to contain the rapidly spreading omicron variant. Global Covid-19 infections rose by a record 1.73m Wednesday, the third consecutive day the world has recorded more than a million new cases in 24 hours. On Thursday, Germany added Italy, Canada and Malta to its high-risk list, meaning travelers from those countries need to quarantine for 10 days unless they’re vaccinated, recovered or can present a negative test five days after arrival. <br/>

Cathay Pacific is suspending all long-haul cargo and cargo-only passenger flights with immediate effect for seven days in another blow to an already strained global supply chain. The move follows Hong Kong authorities tightening Covid-19 quarantine requirements for aircrew - directly affecting the city’s flagship carrier - from three days’ mandatory confinement at a designated hotel to seven days, the Post has learned. In an internal memo obtained by the Post, the airline said the new quarantine requirement would come into effect after midnight on Friday. Cathay said a further tightening of rules was being made after a cockpit crew member tested positive for coronavirus on the fifth day of his arrival. In a memo to staff, the airline said it would need to activate closed-loop operations for cargo crew, which requires staff to volunteer for a lengthy stint away from home of up to several weeks. “We cannot transition to closed loop operations overnight and we need to take a breather to fully consider all dependencies, including hotel room availability, which is critical,” airline director of flight operations Chris Kempis said. “As a result, we are stopping all 747 and cargo-only passenger flight layover operations with immediate effect for a period of seven days and planning to restart these during the course of the day on January 6th.” Kempis said the airline would press ahead with plans to send crew overseas to Los Angeles and reactivate its United States pilot base. The airline cancelled 17 of its 61 passenger flights on Friday along with five out of 17 for cargo.<br/>