BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- China's civil aviation regulator said Sunday that China Southern Airlines' flight from Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, to Guangzhou would be suspended after 17 passengers had tested positive for COVID-19 on a June 11 flight.

The suspension of flight CZ392, with a duration of four weeks starting June 22, was the first of its kind ever imposed following the introduction of a reward and suspension mechanism by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on June 4.

According to the CAAC policy, if all inbound passengers of an airline test negative for novel coronavirus for three weeks in a row, the operating airline will be allowed to increase its number of flights to two per week.

If the number of passengers testing positive reaches five, the airline's flights will be suspended for a week. The suspension will last four weeks if the number of passengers testing positive reaches 10.