Temporary suspension of charter flights between Russia and China enters into force

Charter flights between Russia and China has officially been suspended starting on February 14. Russia's air transport authorities allowed airlines to perform charter flights between Russian and Chinese regions to return passengers home before that, Russian TASS reports.

Regular flights from Russian regions to Chinese cities were officially suspended on February 1 over the outbreak of the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV in China. Before the suspension, several Russian airlines performed regular (Aeroflot, Iraero, Aurora, Yakutia, Ural Airlines, S7 Airlines) and charter flights (Nordwind, iFly, Azur air) to and from China.

At the moment, direct regular flights to China are performed only from Moscow by Russia's Aeroflot, as well as Air China, Hainan Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.

According to Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsiya, around 230 Russian nationals are waiting in China to return home. They were supposed to fly to Russia by S7 Airlines or Ural Airlines before February 29. They are all currently waiting to be placed on alternative flights or reimbursed. Rosaviatsiya said that 1,404 passengers have already been placed on alternative flights or reimbursed.

The Chinese authorities registered an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the city of Wuhan in December 2019. Cases of new coronavirus were confirmed in 24 other countries and territories, including in Russia. The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. According to latest reports, over 59,800 cases of new coronavirus were confirmed, over 1,300 people died, and nearly 6,000 recovered.