China is reportedly looking to end a controversial ‘circuit breaker’ policy that arbitrarily forces airlines to suspend routes if passengers test positive for COVID-19 on arrival in the country.
According to anonymous sources quoted by Bloomberg, China’s State Council has asked various government departments including the Civil Aviation Administration of China to draw up a new policy that would effectively bin the circuit breaker mechanism.
The existing rules mean that airlines can be banned from operating a specific route for one or two weeks if a certain number of passengers test positive for COVID-19 on arrival in China.
Airlines and even governments have criticised the circuit breaker policy because the aviation industry has virtually no control over the testing process. Passengers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 to airlines before boarding their flight to China, and there is no way for the airline to know that the passenger will subsequently test positive on arrival.
The U.S. Department of Transporation (DOT) has, on several occasions, imposed tit-for-tat sanctions on Chinese airlines after U.S. carriers were forced to suspend routes to China due to the circuit breaker mechanism.
Sources quoted by Bloomberg say that China is implementing a three-step plan to help the Chinese aviation industry’s recovery. The first step was to increase the number of flights flying to and from the country, while easing the circuit breaker rules will be step two.
Step three will see a full return to normal airline operations, although it remains to be seen when that time might come.
Under China’s draconian ‘COVID zero’ policy, passengers arriving from overseas must quarantine in a hotel for seven days and then a further three days at home. The government is considering reducing the hotel quarantine period to just two days.
Low vaccination rates mean it could still take a long time before China is ready or able to end its Covid isolation from the rest of world.
