Despite the emergence of Omicron, a more infectious COVID-19 variant, AirAsia Philippines will resume bi-weekly flights to Hong Kong beginning Sunday, Dec 5.
Air Asia flight Z2 1264, scheduled to depart at NAIA T3 at 8:35 a.m., will arrive in Hong Kong at 10:55 a.m.
Its return flight to Manila, Z2 1265, will depart at 11:45 a.m. and land at NAIA T3 at 2:00 p.m.
“Almost 2 years into the pandemic, AirAsia believes that our guests have already developed the culture of readiness and safety that is strictly observed across all touchpoints of the customer journey," Spokesperson Steve Dailisan stated.
"We will monitor the situation closely and continue to abide by the guidelines set by the government," he added.
“Our return to Hong Kong signifies our commitment to service our business travelers and Overseas Filipino Workers who have been wanting to come home to the Philippines for the holiday season. However, there should be no room for complacency.”
Experts and scientific research suggest that COVID-19 transmission onboard an aircraft is zero to none.
All AirAsia aircraft are equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters which kill up to 99.9 percent of viruses including COVID-19.
On top of that, the airline's flying crew are 100 percent fully vaccinated against the virus. They conduct thorough aircraft cabin cleaning and sanitation after each flight.
To date, the Philippines remains safe against the Omicron variant and has logged less than six hundred average daily infections in a 7-day period.
Arriving fully vaccinated guests from countries under the “green and yellow list” must present a proof of vaccination and a negative RT-PCR Test taken 72 hours prior to departure.
Unvaccinated guests will be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day and should monitor themselves for symptoms until the 14th day of their arrival.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong has only banned non-residents from Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel and Italy where the Omicron variant has been detected.
The Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau has also confirmed that the three imported Omicron cases were already contained.