SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been banned from flying passengers to Hong Kong for two weeks, after Covid-19 cases were detected among some of its passengers.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, an SIA spokesman on Wednesday  (Feb 16) said: "The directive from the Hong Kong regulators came after some SIA customers, who had tested negative for Covid-19 for their pre-departure tests, subsequently tested positive on arrival in Hong Kong.

"We are unable to comment further due to confidentiality reasons."

The ban will affect SIA's two daily passenger services to Hong Kong, SQ882 and SQ894, until March 1.

But SQ883 and SQ895, the twice-daily passenger services from Hong Kong to Singapore, are not affected.

SIA said it apologises to all customers affected, and will contact them to offer help and minimise the inconvenience caused by the disruption.

The carrier was previously barred from ferrying passengers to Hong Kong in April last year after it breached a trigger point that Hong Kong had set for the suspension of airline operations.

In that instance, an SIA transit passenger who arrived in the territory tested positive for Covid-19, while three other passengers on the flight were found to have breached rules for entry to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong recently tightened both domestic and border restrictions in response to a growing Covid-19 wave in the territory.

For example, it extended a ban on incoming flights from eight countries, and imposed one on Nepal until March 4.