[The Epoch Times, December 28, 2021](The Epoch Times reporter Xu Xiuhui reported in Los Angeles) The CCP’s new epidemic prevention regulations are causing serious problems for international airlines and mainland travelers.
Wang Yue, an industry practitioner who has been engaged in the Sino-US tourism industry for more than 20 years, said that stringent aircraft disinfection, entry inspection and quarantine policies have greatly increased the operating costs of airlines and also pushed up the price of air tickets to the mainland. Coupled with the reduction in flights due to the epidemic, “returning to the mainland will only become more and more difficult in the future.”
Disinfection and quarantine order affects operations of Delta Air Lines returning midway
With the spread of the Omicron variant of the CCP virus (COVID-19), many airline crews have been quarantined or diagnosed. Tens of thousands of flights around the world were delayed and nearly 8,300 flights were cancelled during the Christmas long weekend from 24 to 26. Among them, the most cancelled flights to the United States and China.
The Associated Press reported that Delta Air Lines stated on the 27th (Monday) that the Delta Air Lines DL287 that was originally scheduled to fly from Seattle to Shanghai on the 21st was temporarily cancelled due to some reasons. He returned directly six hours later, mainly because the Shanghai Airport introduced new epidemic prevention requirements. Delta said in an e-mail statement that the Shanghai Pudong International Airport’s new regulations “need to significantly extend ground time and are operationally infeasible for Delta Air Lines.”
Wang Yue told The Epoch Times that American Airlines cannot allow the crew to work overtime. However, according to the new epidemic prevention order issued by the CCP, international flights must be thoroughly disinfected after landing. In this way, if the staff on flights from West US to mainland China Transferring to another country directly becomes overtime work.
She said that currently most of the flights between the U.S. and China choose to change the crew when transiting in Seoul, South Korea. Because of the extra working hours for disinfection, the crew must stay there to rest and cannot transfer to Seoul, but stay in China for one more day. It requires 14 days of quarantine before returning to the United States, which invisibly increases airline costs.
Talking about the reasons for the delay of flight DL287 to the United States, Wang Yue introduced that before the departure of the flight on the 21st, the crew found that some passengers were in poor health, so they asked them to get off the plane. The departure time was delayed. Later, the crew would work overtime. Change of personnel and flight number, so I didn’t depart until the 22nd.
Immigration policies are harsh, and it’s getting harder for Chinese to return to the mainland
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, not only have international flights been disrupted, the CCP has also become increasingly demanding on travelers to mainland China, which has caused problems for many Chinese. Wang Yue said that most of the Chinese returning to the mainland need to be quarantined for 14 days plus 7 days plus 7 days for a total of 4 weeks. Some people want to end the quarantine before February 1 of the Chinese New Year, so they return to the mainland early. Because of the surge in demand from overseas students and returnees to the mainland, take the flight from Los Angeles to Guangzhou in January as an example. At present, one ticket for economy class is hard to find, and the remaining tickets have risen to more than 80,000 yuan one-way.
Recently, as the number of people infected with the epidemic has risen again, and flights between China and the United States have frequently broken. Wang Yue has been helping customers whose flights have been cancelled to reset their itineraries or connecting flights. The price of air tickets to cities on the mainland has also risen. She said: “The airfare in November is not so expensive, but in December it increased several times.”
After understanding the situation, many customers can not return without returning to the country, but there are still some fresh graduates or those who have expired visas and have to return to the mainland. Wang Yue said: “Currently, there are not many US-China flights. Most airlines only have 7 or 8 flights a month. Coupled with the changes in the epidemic, returning to the mainland will only become more and more difficult in the future.”
Speaking of the Delta flight DL9891, which turned back halfway, Wang Yue also said that although the passengers on the flight were able to board the plane only if they met the CCP’s epidemic prevention requirements, there was unofficial news that, according to the CCP’s new entry policy, the entire flight was on the mainland. Passengers may not be able to obtain the green health code, and it is difficult to return home.
She said that since December 20th, the local double-yin detection agency designated by the Chinese Embassy in Los Angeles has been reduced, which has also virtually increased variables for travelers going to the mainland. She said: “Originally, Los Angeles has the largest number of accredited testing institutions in the United States, with 8 in total, but now there are 5 left, and one of them has two addresses, so there are actually only four.”
Wang Yue speculates that because the Omi Keron variant virus is spreading rapidly, the CCP has tightened control over testing agencies, but she also wondered why some well-known testing technology agencies were cancelled. ◇
Editor in charge: Jialian
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