Hong Kong to 'give away' 500,000 free airline tickets

The move comes after the destination eased its Covid entry rules in recent weeks, but some airlines are said to have struggled to get their flight schedules back to pre-pandemic levels.

Speaking to the BBC, Dane Cheng, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said: "The airport authority will finalise the arrangement with airline companies.

"Once the government announces it will remove all Covid-19 restrictions for inbound travellers, we’ll roll out the advertising campaigns for the free air tickets."

He said the free tickets – which were bought to support Hong Kong airlines during the pandemic – will be distributed next year to inbound and outbound travellers by the city’s airport authority.

The move comes after Virgin Atlantic announced plans to suspend operations to the city due to "ongoing ongoing complexities" imposed by the Russian airspace closure.

Last month, Hong Kong’s government removed the requirement for arrivals to go into hotel quarantine, or show a negative Covid test before boarding flights to the city.