Delta poised to resume China flights from US

DELTA Air Lines will resume passenger services between Seattle and Shanghai via Seoul from Thursday, operating twice a week based on an agreement between China and the United States.

Delta is the first US airline to reconnect the US and China since the flight suspension in February due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

From July, the US carrier will operate a weekly flight between Seattle and Shanghai and an additional weekly service between Detroit and Shanghai, both via Incheon airport.

The tickets are open for booking on all channels, including Delta.com and Fly Delta app, the airline said yesterday.

Wong Hong, Delta president for China and Singapore, said the flights are resuming as economic and social activities start to recover. “We are implementing unprecedented health and safety measures and practices, so customers are ensured of ease and safety at all points of their journey,” Wong said.

The US and China have each allowed four weekly flights between the two countries, easing travel restrictions in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The US threatened to bar Chinese passenger flights on June 16 but later revoked the plan.

Apart from Delta, United Airlines plans to operate two weekly passenger flights between San Francisco and Shanghai from July 6 through October 24.

Chinese carriers are operating four flights between China and the US. These are: Air China’s Beijing-Los Angeles service, China Eastern’s Shanghai-New York service, China Southern’s GuangzhouLos Angeles service and Xiamen Air’s Xiamen-Los Angeles flights.

Delta said that it will deploy its flagship A350 aircraft to operate the Pudong-Seattle flights, along with top cleanliness standards.

All aircraft will be sanitized with electrostatic sprayers before departure, while pre-flight interior disinfection will be enhanced.

The aircraft’s air circulation systems with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters are said to be able to extract more than 99.99 percent of particles, including viruses.

The number of passengers on each flight will be reduced and certain seats in the middle rows will be blocked. The carrier is capping 75 percent of business-class seats and 60 percent of the economy cabin.

All passengers are required to wear masks during travel, except during meal service. Complimentary masks are available on request and hand sanitizers are provided at check-in counters and boarding areas.

Air France and Air New Zealand have also restored their services to Shanghai as Chinese authorities begin to relax travel curbs and air traffic picks up.

Air France restarted its passenger services between Shanghai and Paris on June 18, with a weekly passenger flight operated with Boeing 777-300 wide-body aircraft.

Air New Zealand also resumed passenger flights between Auckland and Shanghai from yesterday. The first flight, on a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, was scheduled to leave Auckland at 11pm and land at Pudong at 7:15am today.