China announces that foreign airlines that were barred from the country during the coronavirus pandemic will be allowed to fly again.

In other words, it means that China is lifting the temporary ban on American airlines.

The announcement from China's aviation authority comes after Washington ordered all flights by Chinese airlines to and from the United States to be canceled starting June 16, in retaliation for China's restrictions.

The conflict stems from China’s decision on March 12 to restrict foreign airlines’ traffic based on the size of their operations in the country. At that time, US airlines had already canceled all flights to China due to the pandemic – which resulted in them being removed from the country’s list of permitted airlines.

China's aviation authority now says that foreign airlines not on the list will be allowed to operate one international flight to China per week from March 12.

Passengers will be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival. Routes where all passengers test negative for the virus for three consecutive weeks will be expanded by one additional flight per week. Conversely, routes where at least five passengers test positive for the virus will be canceled for at least a week, the aviation authority said.

Source: TT