WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China Eastern Airlines Corp on Wednesday asked the U.S. Transportation Department for approval to temporarily shift New York to Shanghai flights over COVID-19 measures.
The carrier said because of “evolving coronavirus pandemic control measures in the Shanghai region, China Eastern has been instructed” by Chinese aviation officials “to divert Shanghai-bound passenger flights arriving from the U.S. to certain alternate airports in China.”
China Eastern asked approval starting March 31 to move existing twice-weekly Shanghai westbound passenger flights from New York to China’s Fuzhou Changle International Airport through the end of April.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)