China's civil aviation on long runway to recovery

Policy easing

To control imported cases of the novel coronavirus, China's civil aviation authority introduced the "circuit breaker" and "Five One" mechanisms in 2020.

The policies have proven effective to cut the spread of the virus but also caused a drastic drop in international flights and discouraged travel.

According to the "Five One" policy, domestic airlines are required to reduce their international routes to one per country and cap the number of flights to no more than one flight per week, while foreign carriers are allowed to maintain only one air route to China and operate no more than one flight a week.

According to the "circuit breaker" rule, carriers will be suspended for two weeks if five or more passengers test positive upon landing in China. If 10 or more passengers test positive, the suspension will be extended to four weeks.

The rules have been fine-tuned to adapt to the domestic and international COVID-19 situations.

During a news conference this month, Liang Nan, director of the transport department of the CAAC, said the administration is talking with some countries about gradually increasing regular international passenger flights to cater to travel needs.

She also said the operation of international flights is beneficial to China's economic development and the movement of Chinese and international travelers, and serves the sustainable development of the air transportation industry.

The measures have seen some success. From June 24 to 26, more than 10,000 flights were handled across China on daily basis, about 60 percent of the volume before the epidemic according to CAAC News.

Policies have been seen further changes recently, and consequently greater recovery is expected.

On Tuesday, China shortened the centralized quarantine period for inbound travelers from 14 to seven days. Quarantine policies in some regions have also been adjusted.

Adjustments to these rules shows the recovery of China's civil aviation industry is a priority, Yu Zhanfu said.

"The international market of the industry, which was badly hurt by the COVID-19 epidemic, will start recovery carefully and make adjustments accordingly," he said. "It does not mean China will open fully to the international market unconditionally. It is a test to keep the epidemic risk under control while making small changes. If the results are good and imported cases can be kept under control, it may cause the sector to add more international flights and recover at a faster speed."

"Epidemic control is the decisive factor in the industry's recovery. China is attempting to explore ways to ease epidemic control step-by-step," Li Xiaojin said.

"I predicted a few months ago with better control of the epidemic at home and abroad, China will lift the 'circuit breaker' rule to some overseas locations. Those places should show good performance in controlling the coronavirus and willingness to cooperate with China's inbound epidemic prevention policy. It is now moving in this direction," said Qi Qi, associate professor from Guangzhou Civil Aviation College.

"The output value of the civil aviation sector is very small. Even in 2019, the peak time, it accounted for 1 percent of GDP. But it involves industries from upstream and downstream," Li said. "It cannot generate much pure profit, but it affects society, especially high-value industry. Thus, policy adjustments will boost the industry's recovery, which is important to China's social and economic development."

"The aim is to promote orderly recovery and open the domestic and international markets," Zhu Yaochun, deputy chairman of the China Air Transport Association, said at a recent seminar about the industry's recovery. "Most countries in North America and Europe have restored their international routes. It is necessary to promote the resumption of international routes in China as soon as possible to boost opening up and improve connectivity between the Chinese economy and the world economy."