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Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Chinese Government has disclosed that many countries are open to resuming flights when the situation of the 2019 novel coronavirus improves.
The director-general of the Department of International Affairs, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Liang Nan, made the disclosure while briefing journalists on CAAC’s cooperation with other countries since the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Liang stated that as of Tuesday, the civil aviation authorities of more than 40 countries have responded positively to CAAC, expressing appreciation and support for the epidemic control efforts in China.
Liang added that many countries said that their current restrictions were temporary and they would favourably consider resuming routes and flights once the situation got better.
“Ethiopia promised not to suspend flights.
“Cambodia voiced solidarity with the Chinese people in this trying time and pledged not to use executive means to ban or cut back flights.
“The UK, France, Germany, Japan, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, among others, clarified that they have not put any restrictions on aviation businesses through executive orders, and will continue to assess the situation.
“The US Department of Transportation approved two Air China flight routes, namely the Beijing-Los Angeles-San Francisco route and the Beijing-New York-Washington D.C. route, to raise air travel efficiency between the two countries at this special time.
“Russia decided to maintain direct flights between Moscow and Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou after assessing the quarantine capacity of its airports and will keep air travel open between the two countries.
“The United Arab Emirates promised to retain Beijing as a waypoint.
“Flights to Pakistan were restored on 3 February with China Southern Airlines operating between Urumqi and Islamabad.
“Many countries said that their current restrictions are temporary and they will favourably consider resuming routes and flights once the situation got better. Currently, domestic and overseas airlines continue to operate 710 international routes between China and 46 countries, with 2,610 passengers and cargo flights per week, connecting 120 cities on six continents,” Liang said.
Liang further said for international routes affected by the epidemic, CAAC will touch base with its counterparts in relevant countries, strive to retain the traffic rights and time slots for airlines in each other’s countries, work out solutions to the specific problems facing airlines at this special moment, and restore the routes as quickly as possible when market demand returns.
“For countries which have suspended flights operated by Chinese airlines through executive directives, CAAC will work with China’s Foreign Ministry for the normal operation of Chinese flights in accordance with international conventions and bilateral agreements, and ensure as much as possible air connections between China and other countries,” Liang also said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Government has said new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the epicentre were below 2,000 for the first time in 10 days.
The Chinese Government also said analysis of Hubei’s daily figures in February indicated that the number of new confirmed cases on 11 February were the lowest of the month and marked the second consecutive day of decline.
“It also marked the first time the number dipped below 2,000 since 2 February.
“As of 24:00 on February 11, the National Health Commission had received 44,653 reports of confirmed cases and 1,113 deaths on the Chinese mainland, and in all, 4,740 patients had been cured and discharged from hospital. There still remained 16,067 suspected cases.
So far, 185,037 are now under medical observation, who have been identified as having had close contact with infected patients.
“The number of confirmed infections in China’s Hong Kong (49, incl. 1 death) and Macao (10, incl. 1 cured) special administrative regions and Taiwan province (18 incl. 1 cured) had risen to 77 in total, according to the commission,” the Chinese Government said.
