China suspends three inbound flights over COVID-19 cases

BEIJING -- China's civil aviation regulator has announced the suspension of a RwandAir flight, an Ethiopian Airlines flight and a Turkish Airlines flight after several passengers on the routes recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Five passengers tested positive on RwandAir flight WB9500 on March 21, and the flight will be suspended for two weeks starting April 5, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Ethiopian Airlines flight ET684 will be suspended for two weeks starting April 12 after five passengers tested positive on the March 23 flight.

A total of 14 passengers tested positive on Turkish Airlines flight TK72 on March 24, and the flight will be suspended for four weeks starting April 19.

On Dec 16, 2020, the CAAC updated its reward and suspension mechanism introduced in June last year to further contain the spread of COVID-19.

According to the latest CAAC policy, a flight suspension will be extended from one week to two weeks if the number of passengers testing positive reaches five.

A suspension will last for four weeks if the number of passengers who test positive for COVID-19 reaches 10.