Beijing Daxing International Airport in China has restarted operating outbound overseas flight services after a pause of around three years due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

The resumption of international services comes after the Chinese Government decided to ease Covid-19 curbs by downgrading it from Class A to Class B, and lifting of all quarantine measures for overseas passengers coming to China from 8 January, Global Times reported.

Beijing Daxing International Airport Customs deputy director Zhao Zhao was quoted by the publication as saying: “After receiving the flight resumption plan, we continued to improve the customs operation process from the aspects of aircraft scheduling, passenger and baggage flow to make a full preparation.”

The first flight to take off was China Southern Airlines, which was bound for Hong Kong with 101 passengers onboard, the publication stated.

In March 2020, all flights bound for Beijing Daxing Airport were re-routed to Beijing Capital International Airport due to the pandemic.

Beginning on 8 January, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) noted that all flights will be allowed to land at the Beijing Daxing airport directly.

In addition to China Southern Airlines, other carriers such as China Eastern Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines and Himalaya Airlines will recommence their outbound operations from Daxing airport.

The airport will also facilitate international transfers, under the 144-hour visa-free policy for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Earlier this month, Cathay Pacific announced that it will more than double its schedule to China, after the decision to enable quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.

Source: Civil Aviation Authority-Qatar