All International Flights to be Redirected to One of 12 Cities

Michael Wester theBeijinger 2020-03-22

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All international flights into Beijing will be rerouted to one of 12 cities prior to landing in the capital beginning at midnight tonight, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (caac.gov.cn) announced this afternoon.

This encompasses flights operated by domestic as well as international carriers, and also includes flights from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, according to media reports.

The announcement on the CAAC website reads as folllows:

1. Starting from 00:00 of March 23 Beijing Time, all international passenger flights bound for Beijing will be diverted to the following twelve (12) designated first points of entry: Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Hohhot, Shanghai Pudong, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Zhengzhou and Xi’an. The designated first points of entry for the specific flights operated by airlines can be found on the official website of CAAC and the websites of airlines.

2. Passengers on the international flights shall go through quarantine inspection and customs clearance formalities and claim baggage at the first points of entry. Passengers who passed quarantine inspection can fly to Beijing on the original flight. Customs clearance for belly-held cargo shall be conducted in Beijing.

3. Timely adjustment to the designated first points of entry for international flights bound for Beijing and relevant measures will be made based on the epidemic development.

Here is the current list of diversion routes as of 3:45pm (subject to change):

Air China: Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Hohhot, Shenyang, Dalian, Shanghai, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Xi'an
China Southern Airlines: Shenyang, Jinan
Hainan Airlines: Taiyuan
Emirates: Shanghai
Etihad Airlines: Xi'an
Ethiopian Airlines: Taiyuan
Korean Air: Qingdao
Aeroflot: Tianjin
Asiana Airlines: Dalian
Malaysia Airlines: Zhengzhou
Thai Airways: Shijiazhuang
Singapore Airlines: Nanjing

This is a move that was rumored to be happening several days ago, and on Mar 20 four flights were announced as trial cases. The first day of the rerouting saw planes land in Hohhot, Tianjin and Taiyuan, with many passengers quarantined there and airport delays of 11 hours or more.

The reasons for the change in policy are unclear but presumably the move has several motivations: to reduce the pressure / time delays / associated risk of having all flights coming into one airport; to reduce chances any one city’s quarantine hotels and/or medical facilities get filled up with sick and/or quarantined passengers; and to keep the capital city infection numbers low. There is also the possibility this is a tactic to discourage people from returning.

Left unsaid (and we're following up on this) are as follows:

What is the criteria used to determine who is entitled to reboard to go to Beijing?
For those that are quarantined in other cities, do they automatically get the "second leg" of their flight to Beijing later? Is it at no additonal charge? Is it automatically arranged or do travelers need to re-book?
What is the process once the traveler gets back to Beijing— is there another quarantine requirement in Beijing?
Are people who land in Beijing after a stopover still processed the same way, through the convention center?