Financial hub has more flights gradually resumed

A handful of airlines are resuming flights between Shanghai and some domestic destinations as the financial hub has been making progress in preventing and containing the current COVID-19 outbreak, according to Shanghai-based carriers.

Juneyao Air relaunched round-trip flights between Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Longyan of Fujian province on Monday. At the initial recovery stage, flights are available every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday.

Starting Wednesday, flights from Shanghai to Guiyang, Guizhou province; Shenyang, Liaoning province; Haikou, Hainan province; Sanming, Fujian province; Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, will gradually be offered, said its official WeChat account.

In addition to regular routes, Juneyao Air has also begun several chartered flights and temporary passenger flights from this month in an effort to help employees and students get back to work and school, said Cheng Xi, vice-general manager of commercial department with Juneyao Air.

"All the operations were strictly conducted on the premise of meeting COVID-19 prevention requirements of both departure and destination cities," Cheng said.

Passengers are advised to follow the official WeChat account of Juneyao Air to learn the latest information of available flights to and from Shanghai.

Budget carrier Spring Airlines announced it would operate two one-way flights from Shanghai to Zhengzhou, Henan province, and Dalian, Liaoning province, on Wednesday. Starting Thursday, round-trip flights between Shanghai and Yunnan province's Kunming will also be resumed by the carrier.

"It's worth noting that our flights are currently only available to students," said Mao Yi, head of Spring Airlines' communication division.

"We are prepared for the further resumption of flights to support business restoration in the city," Mao said.

Experts expect more regular flights to resume service, which will help assist with the gradual normalization of people's lives and work.

Air travel via Shanghai has been interrupted since April due to the spread of COVID-19. Shanghai Airport saw a total of 3,530 arrivals and departures last month, down 90.67 percent year-on-year, and passenger throughput plummeted 98.93 percent to 42,600 passenger trips, according to a statement from the Shanghai Airport Authority.

Some aviation companies have prepared for large-scale flight recovery, but uncertainties remain due to constant adjustments in destination city contagion prevention requirements, reported ThePaper.cn, citing industry experts.

Shanghai's Hongqiao Railway Station and the downtown Shanghai Railway Station have seen a growth of handling capacity since Monday, as the two stations are gradually resuming normal operations, said Zong Ming, vice-mayor of Shanghai, during a news conference on Monday.

Regarding the city's improved situation in virus prevention and containment, China Railway Shanghai Group Co Ltd has been closely monitoring the latest contagion situation and passenger flows, getting fully prepared for the launch of more capacity, and trying its best to ensure that travel demand for business resumption is met when appropriate.

Currently, passengers entering and leaving Shanghai should follow the principle of "not leaving the city unless necessary", according to the local government's requirements. Those who leave Shanghai need to have proof of negative nucleic acid test results taken within 48 hours and negative antigen results taken within 24 hours.