Air China intl route suspended after over 5 test positive for virus

China's civil aviation regulator said on Friday it has suspended an Air China route between Moscow and Beijing for one week due to some passengers on a recent flight having tested positive for COVID-19.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement that more than five passengers on the July 4 flight to the country's capital tested positive for the coronavirus, meeting the conditions for a "circuit breaker" suspension of the flight route.

In keeping with an international flights adjustment policy announced on June 4, the administration issued its fourth "circuit-breaker" directive and announced the one-week suspension of the route would begin on July 13.

In early June, China eased restrictions on international passenger flights contingent on epidemic risks being under control. Authorities highlighted the "reward and circuit breaker mechanism" for the carriers to increase or have flights suspended in accordance with the companies' epidemic control work.

Under the policy, airlines must suspend flights on a route for a week if five passengers test positive for coronavirus. If the number exceeds 10, the airline must suspend the flights for four weeks.

As an incentive, carriers may increase the number of international flights to two per week on a route if for three consecutive weeks no passengers test positive for the virus in nucleic acid tests.

As all international flights due to arrive in Beijing are still currently diverted to designated airports as their first port of entry, the flight landed at Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province.