The Trump administration on Friday night accused China of blocking U.S. airlines’ flights to the country as tensions between the nations rise.

The Department of Transportation said China has made it impossible for U.S. airlines to resume passenger service there and has demanded Chinese authorities file flight schedules for four of its air carriers still flying to America.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/23/trump-...enger-flights/

Thanks.

I think the confusion came about by airlines selling tickets in expectation of wider flight resumptions, but those tickets were subsequently cancelled (Lufthansa, I think). These mass cancellations prompted concern that there was a new travel restriction for people leaving China. I believe she has now managed to get a ticket on a flight out to Amsterdam (on an EU passport) and a connecting flight down to her destination (her passport country, within the EU). I think all just a storm in a tea cup and a number of people very keen to get out, get home and get ready to move on.

Thanks all

Not sure if there are conditions regarding safety procedure implementation that are being discussed.

Did you post this in the China forum by accident?

No, related to current entry policy of China towards Americans. When viewing the video safety procedures of US airlines could be a reasonable concern. When you supposedly have zero new cases..you gonna let planes like that land..?

Got you. I don't think the flights will be packed when they first restart, mainly because they will limited to cargo, and people who can use them (doesn't include either you or me, at present), but the airlines have a right to try to sell the seats on their planes. If that lady in your video link wanted to be totally safe, she could have chartered a jet herself.

I agree airlines need revenue but should comply with govt directives. The sardine can model of stuffing as many bodies as possible to maximize profit is not the new normal.

Follow the rules or ground the aircraft.
Full capacity is about 6 inches of social distancing.

Have there been any confirmed cases of transmission aboard an aircraft?

For weeks now, planes have been flying in from the UK and the US to Hong Kong, and there have been a fair number of passengers who've tested positive on arrival. But I don't recall a single case in which a passenger on board those flights later tested positive (not to say with certainty there were none).

Is there any research demonstrating the risk to air passengers?

Generally these type of studies are not available during the apex of a pandemic. (SARS-CoV-2)

The new england journal of medicine
Transmission of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS-CoV-1) on Aircraft​​​​​​​
results
After one flight carrying a symptomatic person and 119 other persons, laboratory-confirmed
SARS developed in 16 persons, 2 others were given diagnoses of probable SARS,
and 4 were reported to have SARS but could not be interviewed. Among the 22 persons
with illness, the mean time from the flight to the onset of symptoms was four days
(range, two to eight), and there were no recognized exposures to patients with SARS
before or after the flight. Illness in passengers was related to the physical proximity to
the index patient, with illness reported in 8 of the 23 persons who were seated in the three
rows in front of the index patient, as compared with 10 of the 88 persons who were
seated elsewhere (relative risk, 3.1; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.4 to 6.9). In contrast,
another flight carrying four symptomatic persons resulted in transmission to at
most one other person, and no illness was documented in passengers on the flight that
carried a person who had presymptomatic SARS.
conclusions
Transmission of SARS may occur on an aircraft when infected persons fly during the
symptomatic phase of illness. Measures to reduce the risk of transmission are warranted.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa031349

Not research, but at least one data point VN54 6Mar https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32160236-post3639.html ?

US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health 2020 Apr 1

Probable aircraft transmission of Covid-19 in-flight from the Central African Republic to France

We report here a case of COVID-19 most likely acquired during a flight from Bangui, Central African Republic to Paris, France.
Aircraft transmission of COVID-19 has already been reported in China which corroborates our view [6]. This report illustrates how easily SARS-CoV-2 may travel together with their human carriers and spread the virus on board. Travel restrictions clearly make sense in the current context, not only to limit the spread of the disease to still unaffected areas but also to prevent travelers from getting infected on board.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7194574/

Epidemiologic and Clinical Characteristics of 91 Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 in Zhejiang, China: A Retrospective, Multi-Centre Case Series

Conclusions: Social activity cluster, family cluster and travel by airplane were how COVID-19 patients get transmitted and could be rapidly diagnosed COVID-19 in Zhejiang.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32181807/

Looks like you can not mix people and cargo in seats in the new regulation. .. But would be nice for aircraft to fly to China with people and come back full of cargo instead of empty, especially with air freight rates skyrocketing.
Could be another reason why not to give up lucrative routes. Wonder how many KG a seat will hold...probably rated at least 159 kg @ 14 USD $2200 per seat.



5/20/2020

Exemption for Transporting Cargo on Airplane Seats

The FAA issued an exemption (PDF) that allows U.S. airlines to carry cargo on seats in airplane cabins when no passengers are being transported. The FAA determined the exemption would reduce the chance that movement of critical cargo would be interrupted as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. To exercise the exemption, airlines must submit a letter of intent and receive specific authorization from the FAA, and observe a number of conditions and limitations. The exemption is effective through Dec. 31, 2020.

Following the disruption caused by COVID 19, various operators have approached IATA seeking guidance on the use of aircraft configured for the carriage of passengers to safely transport cargo and/or mail, including loading cargo in the passenger cabin.

https://www.iata.org/contentassets/0...nger-cabin.pdf

Have you read the bilateral agreement between ROK and PRC? Business travelers can take covid19 test up to 72 hours before departure, then do 4 days of quarantine upon entering either country.

With any luck this policy begins expanding during summer...

Until they end the 5-1 flight program, and allow more than a weekly flight to Incheon, can't say this is much if any progress. The current change just allows chartered flights of business executives to quickly go in and out, but does nothing for 99.9% of travelers.

Do you (or anyone else) have a reliable link that describes these rules (for both Chinese and foreign carriers)? I ask because I searched for close-in Shanghai-US flights several times recently, and noticed there is usually a SHA-HND-DFW routing advertised on most days, at reasonable prices to boot. But, since I've never tried to book this, it might just be phantom availability.

As for SEL, there is definitely more than one weekly flight from China because I'm pretty each of the ~12 gateways has at least one flight.

Finally, both HKG and MFM seem to have multiple flights per day to PEK, SHA, NKG, etc. I thought maybe other regional destinations were subject to the same rules.