A flight attendant assists a passenger to fill in his travel history on a China Eastern Airlines flight at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in Shenzhen
Passengers on China-bound flights must provide negative COVID-19 test results before boarding, China’s aviation authority said yesterday, as the government looks to further reduce the risk of imported coronavirus cases amid increased international travel.
Nucleic acid tests must be completed within five days of embarkation, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website. Tests should be conducted at facilities designated or recognized by Chinese embassies in host countries, it said.
People wait to provide samples for nucleic acid tests for novel coronavirus in Beijing
Chinese citizens should upload their negative test results to a WeChat mini program to obtain a health code. Foreigners need to apply for a health declaration at local Chinese embassies or consulates with their negative test results.
Airlines should check passengers’ health codes and declarations and those who fail should not be allowed to board.
Passengers will be held liable for providing false information. The embassies will carefully assess the testing capacity of host countries and formulate travel procedures when testing conditions are met, CAAC said.
The announcement comes as countries struggle with testing capacity and speed. In parts of the United States, receipt of test results can take up to two weeks, while in some other countries, nucleic acid tests are reserved for people who have come in close contact with COVID-19 patients or who have symptoms of the potentially fatal disease.
In recent months, China has allowed some foreign diplomats, employees of large enterprises and other business travelers back into the country on specially chartered flights. It has also eased limits on flights from foreign airlines, although they are subject to penalties if any passengers are found to be infected.
More foreign airlines resume services in China and add flights to the country as the economy recovers. Lufthansa on Friday said it would double the number of flights to and from China’s mainland in coming weeks, and Air France KLM said it has received approval to add more China flights.