Searches for international flights surged after China’s new Covid-19 protocols cut the isolation length from 21 days to 10 for inbound travelers on Tuesday, according to data from online travel agency Qunar.
Within an hour of the new protocols being introduced, online travel agencies saw searches of international flights up 60 percent compared with last week, a new two-year high.
Since June, China Southern Airlines has resumed flights to Southeast Asia and Turkey’s Istanbul, and reopened flights to Central Asian countries from Urumqi, as well as routes to Moscow and Delhi.
Hainan Airlines has reopened flights from Shenzhen to Vancouver, as well as Chongqing to Rome and Madrid.
Halving the quarantine length aids hotels, allowing them to free up rooms to take in more guests, according to LAN Xiang of Qunar. With more flights added, the price of inbound flight tickets will also go down, further boosting demand.
