Two former Cathay Pacific flight attendants who are believed to have brought the Omicron variant into the community last December were on Thursday convicted of violating quarantine rules.

Eastern magistracy heard that Wong Yoon-loong, 46, was subject to medical surveillance but had failed to observe the specified conditions on or around December 25, 2021.

Nilsson Lau, 45, was convicted of committing the same offence on December 25 and 27.

At the time, air crew had to observe 21 days of self-isolation after landing in Hong Kong, but the two had gone out and attended meal gatherings before subsequently testing positive with Omicron.

During the trial, the defendants’ lawyers said both of them genuinely believed they had not flouted any rules, as the airline’s internal guidelines stated that staff could go out to get food and did not list what acts were prohibited.

But prosecution said ignorance was not a valid defence.

Sentencing has been adjourned to December 1 and the pair were remanded in custody.