There's New COVID-19 Rules In Shanghai, Delta Air Lines Fleet Turns Back To Seattle Airport

Illustration of the Delta Air Lines airline fleet. (Wikimedia Commons/Quintin Soloviev)

JAKARTA - Airline Delta Air Lines said on Monday that new pandemic-related cleaning requirements at China's Shanghai Airport made flights from Seattle, the United States turn around in the air and return to the airport, sparking protests from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco.

An emailed statement said the new rules at Shanghai Pudong International Airport "require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally feasible for Delta", citing the Associated Press on December 27.

It's unclear what the rules will be and what prompted the change, but it comes as China tightens already stringent COVID-19 travel restrictions, in light of a growing outbreak in the city of Xi'an and ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in six weeks.

Xi'an, located about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) southwest of Beijing, reported more than 300 new cases over the weekend, a sharp increase from the previous day. The city of 13 million people has been under lockdown, with only one person per household allowed out every two days to shop for necessities.

Two Taiwan-based airlines, China Airlines and EVA Air have both reduced the number of flights to Shanghai Pudong International Airport in recent days, citing new disinfection procedures that will take longer to complete, according to Taiwan's semi-official news Central News Agency.

EVA suspended flights from the two cities to Shanghai until February 3. Meanwhile, China Airlines suspended flights from one city to Shanghai until the end of January and reduced the number of flights on other routes.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco did not name Delta but said in a brief statement Sunday that many flights from the US to China had been delayed or canceled in recent days, including flights returning more than half the way to its destination.

In this regard, the Consulate "has made a firm representation to the airline", the statement said.