Civil aviation takes flight path to recovery

Policy easing

To control imported cases of the novel coronavirus, the CAAC introduced the "circuit breaker" and "Five One" mechanisms in 2020.

These policies reduced the spread of the virus, but also resulted in a drastic drop in the number of international flights, thus deterring travelers.

According to the "Five One" policy, domestic airlines must reduce their international routes to one per country and cap their number of flights at no more than one per week, while foreign carriers are allowed to maintain only one air route to China and operate no more than one flight a week.

The "circuit breaker" rule means that carriers' operations will be suspended for two weeks if five or more passengers test positive for COVID-19 when they land in China. If 10 or more passengers test positive, the suspension period is extended to four weeks.

The rules have been fine-tuned to adapt to domestic and international COVID-19 situations.

Liang Nan, director of the CAAC's transport department, said during a news conference last month that the administration is holding discussions with some countries on gradually increasing international passenger flights to cater to travel requirements.

She said international flights are beneficial for China's economic development, domestic and international travelers, and for the sustainable development of the air transportation industry.

From June 24 to 26, more than 10,000 flights were handled nationwide each day－about 60 percent of the volume before the onset of the epidemic, according to CAAC News.

On June 28, the centralized quarantine period for inbound travelers to China was reduced from 14 to seven days. Quarantine policies in some regions have also been adjusted.

Yu, from Roland Berger, said adjustments to the "circuit breaker "rule and to international flights are clear signs of a recovery in China's civil aviation industry.

"The industry's international market, which has been badly affected by COVID-19, will start a new but gentle recovery and will make adjustments when needed," Yu said.

"This does not mean that China will open fully to the international market unconditionally. It is a test to keep the epidemic and associated risk under control while making slight changes. If the results are good and imported cases can be contained, this may lead to the sector adding more international flights and recovering more quickly."

Li said: "Epidemic control is the decisive factor in the industry's recovery. China is attempting to find ways to ease epidemic control step by step.

"However, the output value of the civil aviation sector is very small. Even in 2019－a peak time－it accounted for just 1 percent of GDP, but it involves upstream and downstream industries.

"The sector cannot generate much clear profit, but it has an impact on society, especially high-value industry. Thus, policy adjustments will boost civil aviation's recovery, which is very important for China's social and economic development."