Shanghai greets first international arrivals, with no COVID limitations
Li Mingyu, a Chinese student studying in New Zealand, hugs her father under the spotlight of photographers at Pudong airport on Sunday morning.
It's the first time in three years that Li Mingyu, a Chinese student studying in New Zealand, got to hug her father, who came all the way from Xuzhou of Jiangsu Province to pick his daughter up at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
The flight Li took, NZ289, a Boeing 787-9 that landed at Pudong at 6:31am, became the first international flight to Shanghai after China's further relaxed COVID-19 measures for inbound travelers came into effect on Sunday.
"I had wanted to buy a flower bouquet but it's too early, so I wrote a welcome sign on a piece of red paper to greet her," said Li's father.
Shot by Jiang Xiaowei, Ma Xuefeng and Alexander Bushroe. Edited by Jiang Xiaowei and Zhong Youyang. Subtitles by Chen Jie, Alexander Bushroe and Lu Feiran.
Li Mingyu's father holds up a specially made greeting sign on red paper for his long absent daughter.
Greeted by airport staff in normal uniforms, passengers from Auckland got off their plane at Shanghai's quickly passed immigration checkpoints.
Welcomed by long-missed family members or friends who came to pick them up, they left the airport terminal buildings directly.
For the first time since April 2020, passengers from abroad no longer will encounter quarantine staff in hazmat suits holding throat swabs on landing, or be transported to designated quarantine hotels.
The first group of arriving travelers go through immigration at Pudong airport.
Working in New Zealand, Zhang Meng from north China's Hebei Province said that she hadn't been back to China for three years. On hearing that no central quarantine is needed for on-arrival passengers, she booked a flight home immediately.
"I felt so excited that I saved all my annual leave for the reunion with my family," she said. "And the entry procedure was very convenient as no on-arrival PCR test was required."
She did a PCR test before departure as required, and was wearing a facial mask throughout the journey.
"It feels great that things are finally back to normal," she said. "It's easier – and will be cheaper – to book flights and I'll be able to see my families and friends more regularly in the future."
Immigration officers at Pudong airport are now in regular uniforms.
Elsewhere, Melissa Hurst from New Zealand felt lucky as she and her family planned their trip to China long before the optimized measures were announced – in March.
They had been prepared for quarantines but breezed through with nearly all the restrictions dropped. Also they only waited for about two weeks for their visa, which was faster than they expected.
"It's the first time we have returned to China after the pandemic broke out," Hurst said. "We had to do the COVID test and waited one day (for the result) and nothing else."
Travelers pick up luggage after passing the immigration checkpoints.
As China downgraded the COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B, the limitations for international travel were abolished from Sunday, bringing a dawn of hope for complete global economic recovery after the pandemic.
Inbound travelers are now only required to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test 48 hours before departure and can travel to China only if the results are negative. They can move freely if their health declaration and customs inspections have no abnormalities.
The measures aim to further optimize the international exchanges that had been impeded for nearly three years to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Arrivals can leave the airport directly if their health declaration and customs inspections have no abnormalities.
Nationwide, China Southern Airlines' Flight CZ312 from Toronto to Guangzhou became the first international flights to the Chinese mainland after the adjustment of China's COVID-19 response. The flight landed at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 12:16am.
It was followed by Shenzhen Airlines' Flight ZH9024 from Singapore which landed at the Shenzhen Baoan International Airport at 12:23am.
Shanghai's Pudong airport, which handles over half of the arrival international flights to the mainland, dismantled barriers overnight. They had been used to ensure the "close-loop" transport of inbound travelers to the centralized quarantine sites for the last three years.
The "close-loop" management means they would have no contact with others until their central and home quarantines were finished.
The customs, immigration and airport staff have also taken off their white hazmat suits and facial screen for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Two airport staff members dismantle a COVID-19 barrier at the arrival level of Pudong Airport's T2 terminal on Saturday night.
Shanghai Immigration Administration have been prepared for the larger passenger flow.
"We conducted analysis and research on the growth of passenger volume at the port in advance,"said Qiu Bingling, an immigration officer.
"We have further optimized the lineup of immigration officers on duty according to the changes in passenger flow, and implemented our duty in a dynamic and scientific manner to ensure a safe, smooth and orderly passenger clearance environment at the port."
The change is both a relief and a new challenge for the officials working in the airport.
After receiving the last arriving travelers on Saturday night, Peng Chao, a police officer with Minhang District Public Security Bureau, packed up and disinfected the computers and equipment at the passenger transferring site at the T2 terminal.
"It is finally over, we can officially get off work," said Peng, who had been in charge of the close-loop transport of arriving passengers to Minhang for two and half years.
"I will say goodbye to my old friend, an electric heater that has accompanied me during the cold winters for the last two years," Peng said. Air-conditioning was not allowed to avoid transmitting the virus.
The arrival and customs clearance procedure are expected to be fully restored to that of 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak, the airport authority said.
Friends and family wait for arrivals.
Restaurants, stores and public transport will also be restored along with other services at the arrival level at Pudong airport.
However, COVID-19 prevention measures and frequent disinfection will be conducted to prevent cross infection.
The check-in hall, security checkpoints along with escalators and seats are being disinfected with high frequency. The trolleys will be disinfected by both ultraviolet machines and wiped with disinfectants manually.
The air-conditioning and ventilation have been turned to the high volume modes to bring in fresh air to the terminal buildings.
Travelers are reminded to ensure self-protection, while medics are standing by at the terminals to help passengers feeling uncomfortable.
The removal of quarantine and testing for international travelers coincided with the Spring Festival travel rush that began on Saturday and will run through February 15.
The most difficult and demanding travel peak this year, known as the world's largest human migration, will see more than 2 billion travelers by bus, train, plane and car to reunite with their families for the traditional festival which falls on January 22 this year.
The figure had increased to 70.3 percent of the same period in 2019.
Pudong and Hongqiao international airports are expected to handle 6.5 million passengers with more than 66,000 flights during the peak period.
The flight and passenger volumes at both airports in January will increase by 42 and 46 percent, respectively on month, due to the relaxation of COVID-19 response.
About 1,000 daily flights will take off or land at Pudong airport every day during the travel peak, including many international flights, transporting some 84,000 travelers, the airport authority said.
Pudong airport has handled some 1.64 million inbound travelers for 2022, ranking the top among all domestic airports for two decades.
During the peak of the COVID-19 resurgence in Shanghai in early 2022, the city received 62 percent of flights coming into the Chinese mainland, 53 percent of inbound passengers and 46 percent of imported cold-chain goods.
Global passenger traffic, which was decimated by the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, has reached 70.6 percent of its pre-crisis level in 2022 and is expected to further recover with the COVID-19 relaxation measures of China. This is according to the the International Air Transport Association, which represents 300 airlines accounting for 83 percent of total air traffic.
