Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) lodges solemn representations with the U.S. Transportation Department after the U.S. side decided to suspend Chinese passenger carriers.
Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the ministry, made the remarks on Thursday at a regular briefing after the Trump administration on Wednesday said that it planned to block Chinese airlines from flying into or out of the U.S. starting on June 16.
The CAAC has been all along in close communication with the U.S. on the arrangement of flights between the two countries, said Zhao.
Earlier on Thursday, China's civil aviation regulator said that the country will allow more foreign carriers to operate flights into the country.
The adjustment is based on the premise that the risks related to COVID-19 are controllable, the CAAC said in a statement.
Foreign airlines currently unable to operate routes to China can choose one city in the country from which to run international flights once per week starting June 8, according to the statement.
In a bid to curb imported coronavirus cases, the CAAC said in late March that Chinese airlines could maintain just one weekly passenger flight on one route to any country and that carriers could fly no more than the number of flights they were flying on March 12.
Meanwhile, the Chinese aviation regulator said in its latest statement that flight incentives and "circuit-breaker" measures will be also implemented from June 8.
If an airline company doesn't report positive nucleic acid coronavirus test results of incoming passengers for three consecutive weeks on the same route, the carrier may fly two weekly passenger flights.
For airlines on the same route, if up to five of the incoming passengers test positive, their operation on the route would be suspended for one week. In case ten passengers test positive, the operation on the route would be held for four weeks. Once the "circuit-breaker" period ends, the related airline could resume its normal weekly passenger flights, said the statement.
