Beijing resumes direct international flights: What will happen to travelers after arrival?

On Thursday, Beijing resumed its direct international flights with eight countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Greece, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, and Canada. The reopening comes more than six months after the outbreak of the epidemic in the country and its successful containment. China was able to control its cases of local transmissions of the virus with only occasional small-scale resurgences in some cities.

The city is now welcoming passengers from overseas, but strict anti-COVID-19 prevention measures continue to be in place to control imported cases. According to Beijing health authority spokesman Gao Xiaojun, if three or more confirmed cases are found on an international flight into Beijing, the flight will be re-directed to another Chinese city. During trial operations, direct international flights to Beijing will have a passenger cap of around 500 per day.