China suspends Air France Paris-Tianjin flights after Covid cases

China announced Thursday the suspension for two weeks of Air France flights between Paris and Tianjin, near Beijing, following the discovery of five cases of Covid-19 on the arrival of a flight from the French capital.

The suspension is applicable from January 25, the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) said in a statement.

“

” carried out on their arrival, explained the CAAC.

A similar measure was taken last November for a week between Paris and Shanghai.

Since last summer, Air France has been providing three connections per week between Paris and China, two with Shanghai and one with Tianjin, a port city located around 100 kilometers east of Beijing.

The French carrier has obtained that its planes bound for Tianjin can depart from the Beijing capital international airport, which is subject to strict restrictions linked to the Covid-19 epidemic.

China tightened up its access conditions in early November

China, where the coronavirus first appeared at the end of 2019, practically stopped the epidemic as early as last spring, after the introduction of radical measures.

The country has practically closed its borders to foreign nationals since March 2020, before opening the door a little from the summer.

The Chinese government last year limited international air traffic to one flight per week, per company and per country.

But Air France obtained in July the establishment of two additional weekly flights between France and China.

With the second wave of the epidemic, however, in early November China strengthened its conditions of access to its territory: nationals of certain countries (United Kingdom, Belgium, India, Philippines) were outright banned from access, while others (France, United States, Germany, Canada, etc.) must produce two screening tests (serological and PCR) carried out in the two days preceding their embarkation.

In many countries, getting test results within 48 hours can be problematic.