China suspends two inbound flights over COVID-19 cases

BEIJING -- China's civil aviation regulator has announced the suspension of an Air China flight and a Pakistan International Airlines flight after several passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on recent flights.

A total of five passengers tested positive on Air China's Johannesburg-Shenzhen flight CA868 on Dec 31, 2020, and the flight will be suspended for two weeks starting Jan 18, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Tuesday.

Pakistan International Airlines' Islamabad-Xi'an flight PK854 will be suspended for four weeks starting Jan 18 after 10 passengers tested positive on the Jan 2 flight.

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

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

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