Hundreds line up for Hong Kong Airlines’ free tickets to Japan, with lucky winners unfazed by country’s discharge of Fukushima waste water
- Airline holds second leg of ticket giveaway under ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign, days after Tokyo begins releasing treated waste water from Fukushima nuclear plant
- Ticket winners mostly unconcerned by contamination fears, but believe Hong Kong authorities should take some precautions
Hong Kong Airlines continued its two-day ticket giveaway as part of a government campaign to help revive the local economy after three years of health restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first 450 people in the queue outside Fashion Walk in Causeway Bay by 9am would receive one of the free flight tickets, with all spots in the line already filled by 6.44am, the carrier announced on Facebook.
Hong Kong Airlines to launch weekend giveaway of tickets
Tokyo has repeatedly stressed that the waste water – which is tied to the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima – is safe. The plan also received clearance from the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mainland China and other regional neighbours have raised concerns over the potential impact of the scheme on the environment.
But those queuing up for free airline tickets on Sunday, under the government’s “Hello Hong Kong” campaign, said they were unconcerned by the controversy.
Johnny Lam, a 58-year-old in the construction industry, said he had started queuing at 8pm the night before to get the first spot in the line. He planned to visit Fukuoka, a city more than 1,000km (621 miles) southwest of Fukushima, but was not “worried at all”.
“I don’t eat sushi,” he said with a laugh. “I only eat hot food.”
Ruby Chu Yu-chun, a 39-year-old in the hospitality sector, said she joined the queue at 6am and was also unfazed by the waste water discharge.
“I’ve never been to Japan before,” she said. “I might reduce the amount of seafood I eat, but it’s not going to stop me from going.”
While Chu said the risk of seafood being contaminated should be monitored, she felt the Hong Kong government’s ban on aquatic products was “too strict”.
“Many people know the origin of the food they are eating,” she said. “The government shouldn’t ban things outright, and they should let us choose instead.”
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Japan starts releasing treated nuclear waste water from Fukushima nuclear plant
Celia Chan Ka-yan, a 26-year-old business analyst who started queuing at around 6am, said she felt the ban was “not very necessary” but wanted authorities to take some precautions to allay public concerns.
“At least [the government] needs to take some action, in order to resolve our worries,” she said.
The lucky winners picked their destination of choice, before returning later to play a “claw” vending machine game to get a redemption voucher.
Destinations up for grabs include Okinawa, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo.
Hong Kong supermarkets, eateries post signs stating seafood not from Japan
Those who scored one of the 470 tickets from Saturday’s giveaway were offered the chance to fly to locations such as Taipei, Bangkok, Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing.
The airline also offered 80 extra tickets as part of a photo contest on social media, giving away 30 on Saturday and the rest on Sunday.
The campaign was organised to mark the airline’s launch of new routes to Beijing, as well as Fukuoka and Nagoya in Japan and Phuket in Thailand.
The airline will also hand out 1,100 free round-trip economy-class tickets from Taipei to Hong Kong on August 29.
