Hazmat suited officials detain BA cabin crew after positive test but pilots free to go
A British Airways cabin crew were taken to a quarantine camp in Hong Kong after one member tested positive for coronavirus.
Staff were rounded up and marched out of their Marriott hotel, but the pilots were free to go home.
In a series of Snapchat posts, stewardess Ellie Freeman said her colleagues were only given 30 minutes to pack their bags before being driven to a camp with twin rooms with barracks-style beds.
She said: ‘I’m honestly fuming. I feel a big breakdown coming on, so if anyone wants to Facetime me when I get there, it would be much appreciated. God, I am so scared.’
Ripping into British Airways in one of her posts, she added: ‘Love that from BA that the flight crew can go home and we all have to stay here. What the f***.’
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Ms Freeman, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, told MailOnline she had been charged 60 HK$ (£6) for sanitary products, but it is not known if colleagues had to pay anything else for their stay at the Hong Kong compound, where they will have to stay for two weeks.
On a request form provided to her at the camp, she wrote: ‘To go home.’
A spokesperson for British Airways said: ‘Our teams in Hong Kong and London are helping to care for our cabin crew members, providing them with support and additional supplies to make sure their stay is as comfortable as possible, after the authorities requested they quarantine in accordance with local Covid-19 regulations.
‘We work closely with governments in every country we fly to, and always put the safety and wellbeing of our teams and customers at the heart of everything we do.’
As the Beijing tightens its grip over Hong Kong, more authoritarian coronavirus measures have been introduced this month.
The city has recorded only 5,000 Covid-19 cases and 103 deaths, which many attribute to faster and more severe crackdowns.
Bars in the semi-autonomous region remain closed and restaurants are limited to groups of four people, even if they are from the same household.
The semi-autonomous region also plans to add Britain to its list of high-risk countries from next week.
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