Suspension extended on flight from Abu Dhabi

The suspension of Etihad Airways' flight from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai has been extended for another week after more passengers tested positive for COVID-19, China's civil aviation authority said on Tuesday.

Flight EY862 was suspended for a week from Monday after five passengers on the flight tested positive on August 15, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

The flight had been suspended for one week from August 17 after six travelers on the flight tested positive on arrival at the Pudong airport on August 3.

Etihad said it beefed up its regulations for all passengers flying to Shanghai after multiple travelers on its flight EY862 tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival at the Pudong airport in early August.

All Etihad passengers traveling to Shanghai were required to show a negative COVID-19 test result, issued within 48 hours of their departure from Abu Dhabi, or from their departure airport if they are transferring from another city via Abu Dhabi.

According to CAAC policy, if all inbound passengers on an airline test negative for the novel coronavirus for three weeks in a row, the 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 on the same flight testing positive reaches 10.

Over 10 flights have been suspended since the policy was introduced on June 4 to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Shanghai reported two more imported novel coronavirus cases on Monday. So far, among all 540 imported cases, 464 have been discharged upon recovery and 76 are still hospitalized. Two suspected imported cases are undergoing tests.