Inbound flight switch mechanism is canceled! Air ticket searches across multiple platforms increase and more international flights can be expected – Wall Street Journal

On November 11, the State Council Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism for New Coronavirus Pneumonia Outbreak issued the “Notice on Further Optimization of New Coronary Pneumonia Outbreak Prevention and Control Measures to Scientifically Carry Out and a thorough job of prevention and control “(hereinafter referred to as the” Notice “).

The notice proposes to cancel the switch mechanism for inbound flights and to adjust the two negative nucleic acid test certificates within 48 hours before boarding to a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours before boarding boarding. For those who enter the country, the “centralized quarantine of 7 days + 3 days of home health monitoring” will be adapted to “centralized quarantine of 5 days + 3 days of home quarantine”, during which a code will be assigned and will not be authorized to exit. After incoming personnel have completed quarantine at the first point of entry, the destination will no longer be quarantined. A nucleic acid test will be done on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th day of medical observation of centralized isolation and a nucleic acid test will be done on the 1st and 3rd day of medical observation of home isolation.

After the news broke, the search volume for airline tickets on the online travel platform “Ctrip” more than doubled from the previous day. As of 2:00 pm on November 11, the instant search volume of international air tickets on the online travel platform “Qunar” has peaked in the past year. The search volume of international air tickets for the same trip increased rapidly, and the search volume within one hour increased by 448% compared to the same period the previous day.

As of the November 11 close, China Southern Airlines (600029) reported 7.43 yuan, up 0.13%; Air China (601111) reported 10.59 yuan, down 3.11%; China Eastern Airlines (600115) reported 5.33 yuan, up 1.14%; HNA Holdings (600221)) at 1.6 yuan, down 0.62%; Spring Airlines (601021) at 53.8 yuan, down 0.37%; Juneyao Airlines (603885) at 15.1 yuan, down 0.85%. * ST Shandong Airlines B (200152) reported 4.92 yuan, up 0.2%. China Airlines (002928) reported 12.96 yuan, up 4.52%.

The entry switch announced to be lifted

It is understood that since the switch measurements were implemented on June 8, 2020, the circuit breaker measurements have been changed several times. When the “switch measurements” were initially issued for the same flight as the airline, if the number of passengers with positive nucleic acid test results after entry reaches 5, the airline’s en route operation will be suspended for 1 week; if it reaches 10, the company will be suspended for 4 weeks. The number of “switch” flights cannot be adjusted for other routes. At the end of the “switch” period, airlines can resume their weekly flight schedule.

According to the latest adjustment of 7 August this year, for airline single-entry flights with 5 confirmed passengers, when the percentage of confirmed passengers reaches 4% of the number of passengers entering the flight, the operation will be suspended for a week; when the percentage of confirmed passengers reaches 4% When the number of passengers entering the flight is 8%, the operation will be suspended for 2 weeks. The number of flights blown cannot be changed for other routes.

Civil aviation expert Li Hanming told The Paper that the cancellation of the flight circuit breakers and the shortening of the quarantine periods at the entrance are of great importance for China to resume the necessary international personnel exchanges. “In line with the ongoing seasonal change of international flights, we expect there will be more flights between China and overseas this winter and next spring and it will be more convenient for passengers to travel to and from overseas countries.” .

Lan Xiang, dean of the Qunar Big Data Research Institute, believes that the reduction in quarantine time for return to China means that the reception guarantee capacity of the quarantined hotel for return to China has been improved and also lays the groundwork. for an increase in the number of return flights in the future. The increase in the number of return flights favors the flow of people at home and abroad and also opens a channel for the reduction of return flight fares. At the same time, after the change of season of autumn and winter flights on October 30, the number of international flight bookings increased significantly compared to that before the change of season, and the average price paid for international air tickets decreased. .

Zhang Zhining, Deputy Director of the Strategic Research Center of the Ctrip Research Institute, said that, judging by the upturn in civil aviation passenger traffic in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 2021, domestic civil aviation passenger traffic is not alone. down in the last two months of the year. A series of adjustments to epidemic prevention and control policies could bring signs of recovery for the autumn and winter tourism market and, above all, will release a positive signal for the recovery and development of the national tourism market in 2023.

Cheng Chaogong, lead researcher of the Tongcheng Research Institute, analyzed: “For business travel, the biggest advantage is the cancellation of the circuit breaker mechanism for inbound flights, which creates the conditions for further accelerated recovery. of international flights. At the same time, as a support measure after the cancellation of the switch mechanism for inbound flights, and also established a “closed loop bubble” mechanism for relevant groups, which is of great importance for the accelerated resumption of normal international trade and cultural exchanges “.

International flights resume at an accelerated pace

From 30 October 2022 to 25 March 2023, Civil Aviation of China will implement the flight plan for the 2022/23 winter and spring season. According to the introduction of the Civil Aviation Administration on October 26, a total of 127 domestic and foreign airlines plan to organize 104,573 passenger and freight flights per week (one take-off and one landing counts as one flight) during the winter and spring flight season. this year.

According to the flight plans announced by the three major airlines for the winter and spring season, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines plan to operate respectively 52, 42 and 42 international routes, for a total of 136 international routes. Taking Air China and China Southern Airlines as an example, compared to the previous summer and autumn flight season (March 27-October 29), the number of international routes in this new flight season has increased significantly. Air China and China Southern have announced that they will operate 17 and 25 international routes respectively in the summer and fall seasons, with a 2-fold and 68% increase on a monthly basis.

Since October, several airlines have subsequently announced flight plans for the new season. Several airlines, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, have subsequently announced international resume routes, encrypted flights and new domestic and international routes planned for the new flight season, mainly affecting Asia, the Europe and the Americas.

With the increase in the concentration of international flights, fares also change: since October, international fares have shown an overall downward trend. Data from the Qunar platform shows that the price of international air tickets has fluctuated downwards since October. As of November 11, the price of outbound air tickets fell 30% from late September to 3,700 yuan. After the adjustment of the flight schedule for winter and spring on 30 October, the number of international flights will double. With the adjustment of the policy, the number of international air ticket bookings will continue to increase. Some international airfare bookings are expected to double in December.

Earlier, a number of airline insiders told The Paper that the recent drop in overall international airline prices was the main reason for flight encryption. On November 11, a number of airline staff members told The Paper that the number of international flights in the winter and spring season this year has gradually increased and, as the situation improves, the international route market. it should give birth to a new vitality.

Source of this article:The paperthe original title: “The switch mechanism for inbound flights is canceled! Air ticket searches on multiple platforms have increased and more international flights can be expected”