Delta: Flight to Shanghai turned back because of COVID rules

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

BEIJING (AP) — Delta Air Lines said Monday that new pandemic-related cleaning requirements at a Shanghai airport were behind the turning back of a recent flight from Seattle in midair, a move that had prompted a protest from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco.

An emailed statement said the new mandates at Shanghai Pudong International Airport “require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for Delta.”

It wasn’t clear what the rules are and what prompted the change, but it comes as China tightens its already strict COVID-19 travel restrictions in the face of a growing outbreak in the city of Xi’an and ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in six weeks.

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



FILE - Passengers wearing face masks to help protect against the coronavirus take rest at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China on July 25, 2021. Delta Air Lines said Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, that new cleaning requirements at a Shanghai airport were behind the decision to turn back a recent flight from Seattle in mid-air, a move that had prompted a protest from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-travel-business-lifestyle-1a5a48d6ced0821b8718f8fc46dbb920

[Tetrachloride]

1. So, the first missing information is what the rules are

and next what Delta objected to.

[cstanleytech]

3. More than likely it was probably a cleaning time for the plane

that delta thought was unnecessary when they need to make as many flights as possible on a route to be profitable.

[IronLionZion]

2. China must be super excited to host the Olympics in a month

I have a Chinese-American coworker who plans to visit family there. It's not fun with their heavy handed lockdowns and travel restrictions.

[Lucky Luciano]

4. I just turned down the job to run our Hong Kong office. Could have been a huge opportunity for me,

…but the heavy handed Covid zero strategy doesn’t work for me. We are way past that being viable. Plus…the guy currently running our Asia desk really wants to leave as his family’s quality of life has been crushed. Doesn’t sound fun to move now….my wife also opposed and they don’t allow pit bulls (assholes), so I couldn’t really go anyway.

[reACTIONary]

5. I'd really like to live in HK for a while, but...

... I'd probably get into trouble. Couldn't help myself.

[pecosbob]

6. All the PR I've seen has been extremely low-budget, so bad it's funny.

The CCP isn't trying to spend one RMB is doesn't have to this time.