(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- More flights have received a ‘circuit breaker’ order from China's aviation regulator over their passengers testing positive Covid-19, but air runs between the country and the US are set to double nonetheless.

The US Department of Transportation will allow Chinese airlines to run eight passenger flights a week to and from the US, the agency announced yesterday. The figure is the same as that the Civil Aviation Administration of China recently approved for operation of US airlines to operate. The order will take effect soon.

This means flights between the two countries are likely to rise from eight a week to 16.

China-US air routes are not the only ones to have recently increased flights. 93 Chinese and foreign airlines run 187 regular international passenger air routes with 210 flights a week as of Aug. 12. Only 47 airlines operated 134 international flights a week in the start of June.

China has required Chinese and foreign passengers entering China by air to take Covid-19 nucleic acid tests by a testing agency designated or recognized by the Chinese embassy or consulate at their place of departure five days before boarding and apply for a green health code or health status statement with the “HS” logo with negative test results to board. The number of such countries is 46.

Air Carriers

More flights have received a ‘circuit breaker’ order from the CAAC when passengers aboard diagnosed with the coronavirus exceeded the upper limit as international flights to China surged. For example, two passengers on China Southern Airlines' Flight CZ392 from Dhaka to Guangzhou on Aug. 13 were diagnosed with the coronavirus on Aug. 15, and three as asymptomatic carriers on Aug. 16, so the total figure was five and thus the flight was directed to stand down for one week.

One passenger on Saudi Arabian Airlines’ Flight SV884 from Riyadh to Guangzhou on Aug. 13 was came back positive for coronavirus on Aug. 15, five on Aug. 16, and nine as asymptomatic carriers on Aug. 16, so the total was 15 and the flight was grounded for one month.

The CAAC and other authorities were to jointly form a specialized mechanism to issue ‘circuit breaker’ orders or award airlines from foreign countries to China based on their passengers’ nucleic acid test results since June 8, the CAAC released on June 4.

The circuit breaker means airlines are barred from running a flight for one week if five or more passengers on it have coronavirus based on their nucleic acid test results in China. If 10 or more turn up on one flight, the CAAC will idle it for four weeks.

Editor: Ben Armour