Shanghai Airports Launched Strict COVID-19 Prevention Measures

Shanghai’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports have strengthened COVID-19 prevention measures for the Spring Festival travel rush, which began on Monday and will run through February 15.

 
All people entering terminals at both airports must show their health QR code, wear masks and receive infrared temperature checks.

Travelers need to check the latest COVID-19 prevention policies of their destination cities. Some cities, such as north China’s Beijing and Tianjin, require travelers to get a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arrival.

The peak periods for air travel will be between January 24 and 31, or the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The rush period for returning travelers is around February 7.

People in China usually enjoy a weeklong holiday for family gatherings and celebrations for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on February 1 this year. Due to the pandemic, however, authorities are encouraging people to avoid traveling during the holiday.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has encouraged airlines to allocate capacity flexibly, make overall arrangements for adding more flights, and provide refund or rebooking services following prevention and control requirements.

Domestic carriers have increased the capacity of popular flights to cap demand during the rush period.

China Eastern and China Southern airlines have substituted single-aisle aircraft with wide-body airliners on popular routes such as Shanghai to Sanya in southern Hainan Province and Shanghai to Changchun in northeastern Jilin Province.

China Southern stated that all passengers need to show QR codes, receive a temperature check, wear masks and disinfect hands before boarding the aircraft.

Juneyao Airlines will deploy all its 88 aircraft for the travel peak. A total of 15,000 domestic flights will operate through mid-February.