China's civil aviation regulator on Thursday moved to loosen international flight restrictions by allowing all qualified foreign airlines to resume services to China from Monday, aiming to boost international travel essential to a faster economic recovery while continuing efforts to stem the arrival of imported coronavirus cases.
From Monday, foreign airlines not listed in the fifth flight arrangement released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in March can fly one international passenger flight to one Chinese city each week, the CAAC said in a statement on Thursday.
That means airlines from many countries including Australia, Canada, the US and Japan will be able to operate flights to China.
Zheng Hongfeng, CEO of industry information provider VariFlight, said on Thursday that the new policy is "a very positive sign" showing China is gradually resuming international flights in a safe and flexible manner based on market demand as the pandemic ebbs and domestic preventive measures improve.
However, if a carrier's number of passengers on China flights who test positive for the coronavirus reaches five, that airline's flights to China will be suspended for one week. If the number reaches 10, operations will be suspended for four weeks.
Yu Zhanfu, global partner of Roland Berger's strategy consultancy, told the Global Times that the new announcement is a signal the "Five-One" policy has been relaxed substantially.
A man wearing a face mask is seen at Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai
The CAAC's announcement came just after the US Department of Transportation said on Wednesday that it was suspending scheduled commercial passenger operations of all Chinese carriers to and from the US starting June 16. The move was in response to China's "failure" to allow US carriers to resume flights to and from China, the statement said.
The move, which targeted seven Chinese airlines including Air China, Beijing Capital Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Sichuan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, would cut off all air services between the world's two largest economies and further exacerbate already escalating bilateral tensions.