Flight schedule for HK-Saipan route published

Popular online travel sites have now published Hong Kong Airlines’ flight schedule for the upcoming relaunch of their Hong Kong-Saipan route next month.

Travel sites published reports last Tuesday about the return of Hong Kong Airlines to Saipan next month and have also published the airlines’ flight schedule.

According to the schedule, Hong Kong Airlines will be providing two weekly flights: The Hong Kong to Saipan flights will be every Thursday and Sunday, departing Hong Kong at 7:35pm and arriving on Saipan at 2:35am. The airline’s Saipan to Hong Kong flights will be every Monday and Friday, departing Saipan at 4:05am.

The posted flight schedule officially solidifies the return of the airline to the Marianas—a development that has been up in the air for months.

The Commonwealth Ports Authority gave the initial word about the airline’s return to the Marianas. In a brief statement from CPA executive director Leo Tudela last March 6, he confirmed that Hong Kong Airlines is set to launch its first flight back to Saipan on April 28.

The return of Hong Kong Airlines has been in the works since last year, but the exact date of the airlines’ return has always been tentative. Initially, it was to relaunch its Saipan route in November 2023. When that didn’t happen, CNMI stakeholders were informed that the return of Hong Kong Airlines had been moved to February, but the relaunch was postponed anew to March.

Although the recently reported April 28 date is not set in stone just yet, there is a good chance it is more accurate as Saipan Tribune has learned that Hong Kong Airlines staff have started coming back to Saipan in preparation for the airline’s return.

The airline suspended its Hong Kong-Saipan flights back in 2020 and will return after an over three-year hiatus. This time, it will be using a A330 aircraft, which has 280 seats per flight.

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion previously said the MVA is optimistic that Hong Kong Airlines will further boost the CNMI’s tourism industry as there is a pent-up demand for travel in the area.

The launch of Hong Kong Airlines couldn’t come at a better time, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently ruling on the establishment of the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, which is specific to Chinese tourists. The program would essentially allow visa-free travel for pre-screened travellers from China to the CNMI.

Last January, DHS approved the interim final ruling establishing the EVS-TAP and amending the Guam/CNMI Visa Waiver Program.

According to the interim final ruling, DHS will require persons intending to travel to the CNMI under the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program to submit Form I-736 electronically in advance of travel and receive an electronic travel authorization prior to boarding a flight to Guam or the CNMI. This rule also establishes the EVS-TAP as a restricted sub-program of the G-CNMI VWP.

Under the current visa waiver program regulations, a paper U.S. Customs and Border Protection Form I-736 is presented to Immigration upon arrival.