Moscow-Shanghai flight to be grounded over positive COVID-19 tests
Aeroflot-Russian Airlines' flight SU208 was suspended after five passengers on a flight from Moscow tested positive for COVID-19 on June 11.
Aeroflot-Russian Airlines' flight from Moscow to Shanghai will be suspended for two weeks by China's civil aviation regulator beginning on June 21.
Flight SU208 was suspended after five passengers on a flight from Moscow tested positive for COVID-19 on June 11, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said today.
The airline was punished by the CAAC last month after eight passengers tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving at Pudong International Airport.
In response, the airline capped the load factor, or percentage of seats filled, to no more than 40 percent for four weeks beginning on May 31.
Because additional cases have been found since then, the flight was suspended. Once the flight is restored, it won't be allowed to operate with limited capacity if any more cases are found in the following three months, the CAAC said.
The same flight has been suspended several times since last October. It was suspended for a week on October 19 after eight travelers tested positive on October 2. The suspension was extended to four weeks after 11 passengers tested positive on October 9.
Last December, the flight was again suspended for four weeks after 11 people tested positive on board the plane.
Since May 1, the administration has slightly relaxed COVID-19 suspension rules on international flights, as it seeks to facilitate more flexible capacity arrangements for airlines.
Airlines can now cap the load factor on a flight to no more than 40 percent for four weeks if more than five but less than 10 passengers on a previous flight have tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in China.
The CAAC launched its suspension mechanism for international passenger flights in June of 2020, and updated the policy last December to further contain the spread of COVID-19.
A flight suspension will be extended from one week to two if the number of passengers testing positive reaches five. A suspension will last for four weeks if the number reaches 10.
If all of an airline's inbound passengers test negative three weeks in a row, it will be allowed to increase flights to two per week.
Three imported coronavirus cases were reported in the city on Thursday. So far, of the 1,802 imported cases, 1,728 have been discharged upon recovery and 74 are still hospitalized. One suspected imported case is undergoing tests, according to the Shanghai Health Commission.
