China and the UK have agreed to resume direct passenger flights between the two countries, ending the direct flight ban imposed by Chinese authorities since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The British Embassy in Beijing announced via a tweet that the UK Department for Transport and China’s Civil Aviation Administration have formally agreed to restart direct passenger services between China and the UK.
Update on direct flights between the UK and China pic.twitter.com/OjVWiRiEtu
— UK in China (@ukinchina) August 10, 2022
The agreement came a few days after China eased the rules for international COVID-19 flight suspensions. On August 7, 2022, China shortened the flight ban period for incoming flights with passengers onboard that are positive for COVID-19 from two weeks to a week.
The initial flights from China to the UK will be operated by Chinese airlines, according to the British Embassy in Beijing. China’s three largest carriers, Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern, have unveiled reduced ticket prices since the announcement.
China’s neighboring countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific have already eased restrictions and resumed international flights from February 2022.