China's aviation authority to allow more foreign flights after US ban
China’s aviation authority said Thursday it would allow all foreign airlines to choose a city from a pre-approved list to operate one flight a week after the US banned all Chinese carriers from entering the country.
According to the Chinese aviation authority, international passenger flights would restart on 8 June. If an airline's passengers tested negative for the virus for three consecutive weeks, then the airline would be able to add one additional fight per week.
But if five or more passengers tested positive for the virus, the airline would have to suspend its flight for a week, according to the statement.
The new policy was announced about 12 hours after the US Trump administration banned Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the US starting 16 June.
China “remains unable” to say when it will revise its rules “to allow US carriers to reinstate scheduled passenger flights”, the transportation department said in a formal notice made public on Wednesday.
International flights to China have been suspended since 12 March.
Air China, Hainan Airlines, China Southern, China Eastern, Xiamen Airlines and Sichuan Airlines were all mentioned in the US Department of Transportation order that called for the suspension of their flights to the States.
The Trump administration is also cracking down on Chinese passenger airline charter flights and will warn carriers not to expect approvals.