First flight of returning European employees lands in China
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A Lufthansa plane carrying around 200 mainly German workers landed in China on Saturday, marking the first return of Europeans since the country suspended international flight routes in late March and imposed an entry ban on most foreigners -- including those with valid residence visas. Since the entry ban, many workers found themselves stranded abroad and unable to return after leaving China at the height of the epidemic.
Lufthansa's flight from Frankfurt landed shortly before noon at Tianjin airport, southeast of Beijing, the German flag-carrier said.
The group, made up of employees of German companies and their families, were tested for COVID-19 after they landed and will have to quarantine for two weeks.
“We did not know if this plane would leave or not" until the last minute, said passenger Alexander Ophoven before takeoff.
A screen showing Lufthansa flight LH 342 to Tianjin, China (the first post-lockdown flight departing Europe for China) is pictured at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany.(Photo by Yann Schreiber / AFP)
A second aircraft — reserved for people who are urgently needed in China for economic, commercial, scientific or technological purposes, or for urgent humanitarian reasons — is scheduled to depart from Frankfurt for Shanghai on June 3.
There are more than 5,000 German companies operating in China, according to the local German Chamber of Commerce.
Two months after closing its borders, China is beginning to lift restrictions on foreigners.
Beijing announced on Friday that some Singapore nationals will be allowed to return from early June. They will only be allowed entry into six cities and provinces initially, including Shanghai.
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