China tightens management on int'l flight staff for COVID-19

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China's aviation authorities have asked its relevant departments to work with local governments to implement closed-loop management on flight staff who have direct contact with international passengers and cargo in efforts to intensify COVID-19 prevention and control.

International flight staff should be separated from those serving domestic flights and avoid contact with their family and community members when on duty, according to Feng Zhenglin, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Feng urged the aviation sector to increase efforts on COVID-19 containment for flight crews as well as the implementation of virus-control measures on airport ground services, especially third-party service providers working in airport operating areas.

While ensuring the COVID-19 vaccination of all international flight staff, Feng called for pushing forward vaccinations for civil-aviation employees and increasing the frequency of nucleic acid testing.

On July 20, nine airport cleaners at the Nanjing Lukou International Airport were found positive for the virus during a routine testing. As of Thursday, the city of Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, has reported 173 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.