Skift Take

The test, paperwork, and five-day time frame all add up to a lot of extra work for the traveler. Those airlines that are allowed to fly to China will probably be hoping it's a very temporary measure.

Passengers of China-bound flights must provide negative Covid-19 test results before boarding, China’s aviation authority said on Tuesday, as the government looks to further reduce the risk of imported coronavirus cases amid increased international travel.

Nucleic acid tests must be completed within five days of embarkation, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on its website. Tests should be conducted at facilities designated or recognised by Chinese embassies in host countries, it said.

The embassies will carefully assess the testing capacity of host countries and formulate travel procedures when testing conditions are met, CAAC said.

The announcement comes as countries struggle with testing capacity and speed. In parts of the U.S., receipt of test results can take up to two weeks, while in some other countries, nucleic acid tests are reserved for people who have come in close contact with Covid-19 patients or who have symptoms of the potentially fatal disease.

In the past month, CAAC has allowed more foreign airlines to resume services in China and add flights to the country as the economy recovers. Deutsche Lufthansa AG on Friday said it would double the number of flights to and from mainland China in coming weeks, and Air France KLM SA said it has received approval to add more China flights.

A number of airlines have been suspended from operating China routes after more than five passengers tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu, Lusha Zhang and Jamie Freed; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

This article was from Reuters and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

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Tags: air france-klm, airlines + transport, china, coronavirus, lufthansa

Photo credit: China's aviation authority believes pre-departure testing will lower the risk of importing coronavirus cases. GVS / Adobe

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