Asiana Airlines Cancels Flights to Beijing on the 26th and 28th

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] Following Korean Air's decision to temporarily suspend operations on the Incheon-Beijing route, Asiana Airlines also canceled its scheduled Incheon-Beijing flights for this week. This decision comes in response to China's strengthened quarantine measures aimed at preventing the re-importation of COVID-19 cases.

On the 23rd, Korean Air announced that due to China's implementation of a measure requiring all international flights arriving in Beijing to first land at nearby city airports for quarantine and disinfection procedures starting that day, it will temporarily suspend operations on the Incheon-Beijing route from March 28 to April 25.

Korean Air's flights to Beijing will operate normally only on the 23rd, 25th, and 27th. According to the "Notice No. 2 on Priority Landing Airports for International Flights Bound for Beijing," these flights will first land in Qingdao before arriving in Beijing, where passengers will undergo special quarantine procedures on-site. Passengers will go through temperature checks, immigration procedures, luggage disinfection, and other disinfection protocols. Only those who meet the re-boarding conditions will be allowed to board the same flight to Beijing. The expected waiting time for quarantine in Qingdao is approximately seven hours.

Asiana Airlines also decided to cancel its Beijing-bound flights scheduled for the 26th and 28th, which were originally planned to transit through Dalian, in accordance with the Chinese authorities' notice. The airline is currently reviewing the operation status of flights after the 29th and is expected to finalize the decision soon. An industry insider stated, "Asiana Airlines is also expected to make a decision soon," adding, "Although the final decision has not been made, the industry believes they are leaning towards not operating the flights," and noted, "Other foreign airlines share the same sentiment."

China has implemented a measure starting today requiring all international flights arriving in Beijing to first land at nearby city airports for quarantine and disinfection procedures to block the re-importation of COVID-19. The priority landing airports designated by the Chinese government for international flights include 12 airports: Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Hohhot, Shanghai Pudong Airport, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Zhengzhou, and Xi'an.

As China strengthens its COVID-19 re-importation prevention measures, international flights to and from China have already been significantly reduced. An aviation industry official explained, "Until last week, 92% of China routes were cut back," adding, "Weekly flight frequencies dropped from 1,204 to 100. Among the 85 Korea-China routes, 64 routes, accounting for 75%, have been suspended." He further noted, "Chinese aviation authorities have stated they will only reduce flights for the time being to control COVID-19 but have not mentioned the possibility of increasing flights," leaving open the possibility that this situation may continue for some time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.