HONG KONG - Cathay Pacific Airways said Sunday that a Cathay Dragon service between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong will be suspended for two weeks after some connecting passengers on a flight from India were found infected.

In a statement, Cathay Pacific said the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD) informed the carrier that its Cathay Dragon passenger flights from Kuala Lumpur will be barred for two weeks, leading the airline to suspend the service until Oct 3. The carrier had been scheduled to operate three flights a week on that route, it said.

Cathay Pacific said the five passengers from India who were on a Cathay Dragon flight between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong on Sept 18 tested positive for COVID-19, even after they submitted negative nucleic acid tests before their trip

“As a result of the CAD directive, we will suspend our passenger services between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong until 3 October. We are in the process of informing all affected passengers with the provision of refunds or other alternative flight arrangements,” the statement reads.

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Cathay Pacific said the five passengers from India who were on a Cathay Dragon flight between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong on Sept 18 tested positive for COVID-19, even after they submitted negative nucleic acid test results before their trip. The passengers were earlier on an Air India Express flight.

“We are following the health authorities’ prescribed procedures in assisting their efforts in tracing people who were in close contact with the index passengers. We will continue to work closely with the authorities on this case,” the carrier said.

It added that the operating aircraft was sent for intensive cleaning in accordance with the standard required by the Hong Kong Port Health Authority and the airlines’ own strict standards.  

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With inputs from Bloomberg