Passengers must undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival in China. (Representative)
Beijing, China:
China said on Thursday that it would allow foreign airlines currently stranded to operate in the country due to coronavirus problems to resume limited flights, lifting a de facto ban on US carriers.
The decision of the Chinese civil aviation authority comes after Washington ordered the suspension of all Chinese airline flights to and from the United States from June 16 in retaliation for the restrictions imposed by Beijing American and foreign carriers.
The line adds to the growing friction between the two largest economies in the world in the midst of the coronavirus crisis and following a two-year trade war that has not been fully resolved.
The last spat is partly due to the decision of the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority (CAAC) to impose a limit on foreign airlines according to their activity on March 12.
But U.S. carriers had suspended all flights on that date due to the pandemic – which means their cap was set to zero – while Chinese carriers’ flights to the U.S. continued.
CAAC said on Thursday that all foreign airlines not listed on the March 12 schedule will now be able to operate an international route to China every week.
Passengers must undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival in China.
Routes for which passengers have all tested negative for three consecutive weeks will be allowed to operate an additional flight each week.
And routes with five or more passengers tested positive will be suspended for at least a week for domestic and foreign carriers, the CAAC said.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
