What’s new: China’s aviation regulator has ordered all airlines to make tickets fully refundable during the upcoming Lunar New Year travel rush.
In a notice issued Tuesday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said that all tickets purchased from Wednesday for flights between Jan. 28 and March 8 can get full refunds or can change their tickets at least once.
What’s the background: Beijing is growing antsy as the Lunar New Year approaches, as the period often sees millions of Chinese take to the road to head home for family reunions. Officials fear such movement could spread Covid-19 around the country, just as several areas start to experience new flare-ups.
China is one of the few major countries that has gotten its epidemic largely under control, with the current number of domestic cases numbering in the hundreds. It has done so by taking strict measures when local outbreaks occur, including rapidly testing huge swaths of cities with millions of residents and locking down entire districts or even cities.
Related: Food Delivery Shortages Reappear as Chinese Cities Impose New Lockdowns
Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)
