New Delhi: Air India has cancelled flight services to Hong Kong due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Hong Kong authorities and limited demand in the sector, the airline said.

"Due to restrictions imposed by the Hong Kong authorities and limited demand on the sector, our flights to Hong Kong and back of 19th and 23rd April stand cancelled," Air India tweeted on Sunday.

Passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if they have a COVID-19 negative certificate from a test done 48 hours prior to the journey, according to rules issued by the Hong Kong government.

Earlier in January, this year, Hong Kong had announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries, including India, as the world continues to witness a surge in the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam had announced the flight suspension at a press conference.

She said that the ban will affect passengers from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United States, including transferring passengers, according to Xinhua.

Lam further said that the decision on the flight suspension was made because of a rapid change in the local COVID-19 situation.