The Civil Aviation Administration of China announces a new policy for international flights. Expert: After comprehensive consideration, "not overnight success"
[Global Times comprehensive report] "Beijing expands the scope of the "five one"." The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a notice on the adjustment of international passenger flights (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") on the 4th, causing widespread attention from foreign media such as "German Voice" . From June 8th, China allows all foreign airlines that are not listed in the "International Flight Information Release (Phase 5)" flight plan to operate an international passenger route once a week if the conditions are met. The new policy will also implement an incentive and fuse mechanism for airlines based on passenger nucleic acid detection results. In the eyes of Chinese industry insiders, this is a policy that comprehensively considers factors such as domestic and foreign epidemic prevention and control, people's livelihood, and reasonable demands of foreign airlines. It is both flexible and innovative. The day before China announced the New Deal, the US Department of Transportation said it would suspend all Chinese and American scheduled passenger flights operated by Chinese airlines starting from the 16th of this month. Some foreign media “hook up” the latest moves by China and the United States, arguing that China has responded to the United States’ “no-fly order”. Chinese aviation expert Wang Yanan told reporters from the Global Times on the 4th that China's policy is obviously after comprehensive consideration, "not a night's work." In any case, in the context of continuous confrontation between China and the United States over issues such as the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic and Hong Kong-related national security legislation, the United States issued a "broken flight" threat to China and injected uncertainty into the relations between the two countries. "In terms of relations with China, it is time for smart leaders to come forward." Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman called on the American media on the 4th.
"Precision Policy" in the field of civil aviation
On March 26, the Civil Aviation Administration issued a notice, based on the March 12 "International Flight Information Release (Phase 5)" flight plan as a benchmark, requiring Chinese and foreign airline international passenger flights in accordance with "one company, one country, one line, one week a week" Way to operate, that is, to take "five one" measures. At that time, many foreign airlines had suspended flights to and from China. After the Civil Aviation Administration introduced the new policy yesterday, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Lufthansa and other foreign companies can apply to resume a route to and from China. According to the list issued by the Civil Aviation Administration, there are 37 port cities with international passenger flight reception capabilities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nantong, Quanzhou, Wenzhou and other cities. The "Notice" stipulates that Chinese and foreign airlines that have been included in the "International Flight Information Release (Phase 5)" flight plan still implement the "five one" policy, but can adjust domestic and foreign destinations according to the situation.
"The New Deal is a positive response to foreign airlines, including American Airlines, wanting to resume reasonable requests for flights to and from China." Qiqi, an associate professor at the Guangzhou Civil Aviation Vocational and Technical College, told the Global Times reporter on the 4th that the policy clarified the specifics of resuming flights The path is extremely operable.
The Civil Aviation Administration has also established an incentive and fuse mechanism: if the number of passengers carried by airlines who go to China with a positive nucleic acid test result is zero for 3 consecutive weeks, it can be increased from 1 flight per week to 2 flights; if the test result is positive The number of passengers reached 5 people, the route was suspended for 1 week, and when it reached 10 people, it was grounded for 4 weeks.
The adjustment of international routes introduces the fuse mechanism commonly used in stock trading, which is generally regarded as an innovative measure in the industry. "This is based on my country's current precise policy of prevention and control of epidemic situation and the policy of civil aviation under the policy of resuming production and resuming production." Qi Qi commented.
The relevant person in charge of the Transportation Department of the Civil Aviation Administration told the media on the 4th that the adjustment mainly involves the 95 foreign airlines that suspended suspension of Chinese passenger flights in the early stage, but in view of Saudi Arabia, Italy, Austria and other countries still have aviation restrictions, 31 Foreign airlines may be temporarily unable to resume international flights to China. After the implementation of the "Five Ones" measure, the maximum planned flight volume per week is 134; based on the actual weekly execution rate of 75% since March 26, after the implementation of the New Deal on June 8, the actual increase of 50 flights per week, the total The volume is about 150 classes, and the estimated daily arrivals are about 4,700.
Due to the introduction of a fuse mechanism, some international flights may also be suspended. On the flight from Cairo, Egypt to Chengdu on May 30, there were 11 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia, and another 6 cases of asymptomatic infections. Some international students expressed their concerns about the "Global Times" reporter. "My return flight has been cancelled twice. If the flight operation needs to refer to the nucleic acid detection situation, I am worried about the possibility of grounding." Wang Wang, who is studying in the United States, said that due to delays in airline refunds, many times The ticket purchase also put him under considerable economic pressure. Chen Chen, who was studying at the Free University of Berlin in Germany, also told the Global Times reporter that due to the tight ticket price, he changed the signing from early April to June, but with the arrival of the new "five one" policy, "the hope of returning home is greater." .
"The New Deal emphasizes that international flights should not move dangerous gates to China, and encourages airlines to take effective measures to this end." Qi Qi told the Global Times reporter.
US media: accuse China of restricting flights is hypocritical
The night before the announcement, the US Department of Transportation announced that it will suspend all scheduled Chinese and American passenger flights operated by Chinese airlines from the 16th of this month because China has failed to allow American carriers to operate scheduled passenger flights to and from China Air services cannot fully exercise the rights of both parties." United Airlines and Delta Air Lines previously announced their intention to resume scheduled passenger services on various routes in early June, and have applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on the 4th that it is understood that the Civil Aviation Administration of China is making solemn representations with the US Department of Transportation. He said that the communication between China and the United States on flight arrangements had already made some progress. Now China has announced a policy adjustment, "I hope the United States will not create obstacles to solve the problem."
The US "New York Times" said on the 4th that this aviation dispute has damaged the commercial links between China and the United States. In 2018, more than 8.5 million people took direct flights between China and the United States, and United's passengers accounted for about 17%, second only to Air China's 19%. Delta’s passenger capacity ranks fifth, with more than 10%, behind China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
The New York Times claimed that China’s new policy was “a step back” in the dispute with the United States; AFP believes that China’s policy adjustment will help ease aviation disputes with the United States. In this regard, aviation expert Wang Yanan told the Global Times reporter that the CAAC’s policy adjustment “is not an overnight effort and hasty introduction”, but a response to the gradual recovery of international civil aviation demand and comprehensive consideration after repeated consultations with all parties. "This reflects China's own rhythm." Qi Qi also emphasized that it is not just for US airlines, but for all foreign airlines that are not included in the "International Flight Information Release (No. 5)" plan.
"U.S.-China relations are not worthy of being damaged by the aviation ban during the epidemic." The US Forbes magazine website said on the 4th that the United States announced that it would "cut off" China only to provoke trouble, not to ease differences. It is false to accuse China of restricting flights. The United States previously formulated its own anti-epidemic measures to prohibit the entry of European and Brazilian passengers. This is actually a restriction on foreign airlines.
On February 2 this year, the US government banned non-US citizens who have been to China within 14 days. From this day on, flights from China are only allowed to land at 7 US airports. Later, major US airlines suspended all flights to mainland China, but China Airlines continued to maintain some flights between major US cities and China.
"At present, the global epidemic situation is not yet clear, and the prevention and control of the epidemic is higher than the economic interests. The poor performance of the United States in responding to the epidemic is obvious to the world, and China's achievements in this regard and its support for epidemic prevention in other countries are widely recognized." He said that the difference in epidemic prevention and control capabilities has caused the society to return to normal time, and there is a gap between the overall economic and social losses caused by the epidemic. "The United States has no reason to wave a big stick to China in the field of civil aviation in the form of power politics. ".
According to media reports, the anti-epidemic standards of United Airlines and other US aviation companies are very low. The crew were not required to wear masks until May, which did not meet the relevant regulations of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and would bring China a greater risk of imported epidemic. The adjustment notice issued by the Civil Aviation Administration on the 4th requires all Chinese and foreign airlines to strictly implement the relevant anti-epidemic requirements that have been issued.
"In relation to China, it's time for smart leaders to come forward"
The New York Times said that the timing of the aviation dispute coincided with the "severe deterioration of Sino-US relations." In the face of ineffective response to the epidemic, the White House has continued to "dump the pot" to the Chinese side on the issue of virus tracing. Regarding Hong Kong-related national security legislation, the US's gross interference in China's internal affairs triggered strong dissatisfaction from China. The US Department of Commerce said on Wednesday that it had previously announced that sanctions against 33 Chinese companies and institutions would take effect on June 5. The US "Wall Street Journal" described on the 4th that the "long list of pain points" in the growing relationship between the two countries has now added the issue of aviation flight control. The pain points of both sides are "increasingly spiraling toward an open and comprehensive confrontation."
"In terms of relations with China, it's time for smart leaders to come forward." Dan Glickman, the former US Secretary of Agriculture, wrote in the US Capitol Hill on the 4th that the core issue of this year's US election Many, in the future foreign policy, the key issue is the growing confrontation with China. The Trump administration is eager to attack and depreciate the Chinese on every issue, and even withdraw from the WHO at the time of the global pandemic of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic.
Glickman believes that the bottom line of the United States should be: During this uncertain period, there will be no unnecessary conflicts with China. American political leaders need to moderate their words, rather than relying on who can attack China the most violently as the basis of the election. The United States must heal itself internally in many ways, and China cannot become a scapegoat for all problems. "Hearing politicians to criticize China may make us feel good." Glickman wrote, but for the United States, the real challenge is to use its inherent advantages such as innovation and entrepreneurship to compete with China and continue Lead the world. He called for responsible American politicians to stand up at this time and put forward practical strategies for the United States to cooperate or compete with China on a series of issues.
[Global Times reporter Zhang Mengxu Aoki Xinbin Zhao Juehan Ni Hao Li Xuanmin Tu Lei Liu Yupeng]