China 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, told the Global Times 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.
"The Chinese government has always paid attention to overseas Chinese. The new rule shows
China is making efforts to bring them home," Zheng said.
The regulator also said it will implement a reward and punishment mechanism for all airlines.
Carriers that for three consecutive weeks do not carry any passengers on flights to China who test
positive for the coronavirus will be allowed to open one more flight to China each week.
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.
Qi Qi, an independent market analyst told the Global Times that the reward and punishment
mechanism is targeted and will give airlines an incentive to prioritize virus control over economic
gains when flying to China.
"But taking into account China's border control measures, the overall flight number is still within
control," Yu said. He noted that the once the physical channel between China and foreign
countries is opened, it will pave way for more stable aviation policy in the future.
The COVID-19 outbreak has come under control in China, and the country's economic and social
activities reported fast recovery in May. Even Central China's Hubei Province reported a business
resumption rate of 91.76 percent on May 31, up 11.17 percentage points month-on-month.
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.
Qi said the new policy is not a response to the US' suspension of commercial flights operated by
Chinese carriers.
"It is based on China's own pace and involves all airlines, regardless of whether they're Chinese
carriers or foreign carriers. This is in stark contrast to the US move, which targeted China out of
political consideration," Qi noted.
