Three int'l flights to Shanghai suspended

Three international flights to Shanghai were suspended for up to four weeks by China's civil aviation authority on Wednesday after multiple passengers tested positive for COVID-19.

They include Etihad Airways' flight EY862, China Eastern's flight MU212 and SriLankan Airlines' UL866, announced the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Etihad Airways's flight EY862 from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai is suspended for one week starting Monday (August 17) after six travelers on the flight tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival at the Pudong airport on August 3.

China Eastern's MU212 from Manila to Shanghai is also suspended for a week from Monday after six tested positive on an August 5 flight.

SriLankan Airlines' flight UL866 from Colombo to Shanghai is halted for four weeks from Monday after 23 passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on August 7.

The carriers are allowed to keep operating the flights until next Monday, but any additional COVID-19 cases will lead to further punishment, according to the CAAC.

To contain the spread of COVID-19, a reward and suspension mechanism was introduced by the administration on June 4.

According to CAAC policy, if all inbound passengers on an airline test negative for the novel coronavirus for three weeks in a row, the operating airline will be allowed to increase its number of flights to two per week.

If the number of passengers testing positive reaches five, the airline's flights will be suspended for a week. The suspension will last for four weeks if the number of passengers testing positive reaches 10.

Nine flights have been suspended since the mechanism was first introduced.

Shanghai reported four new imported COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, while three patients were discharged from hospital upon recovery, the Shanghai Health Commission said on Wednesday morning.

So far, among all the 456 imported cases, 402 have been discharged upon recovery and 54 are still hospitalized.