A Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner of Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, arrives at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, on June 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport)

China's aviation regulator on Tuesday approved the first batch of international flights in accordance with its reward and penalty mechanism designed to contain imported COVID-19 cases. 

China Eastern Airlines flight MU2573/4 connecting Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province and Vientiane, Laos was allowed to double capacity to two flights per week, effective Tuesday, until the end of the flight quarter on October 24, according to a statement on the website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The carrier was also granted permission to operate flight MU593/4 linking Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Tokyo once a week. 

The CAAC, together with government departments including the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, unveiled in early June incentives and penalties known as "circuit breakers" for carriers based on the results of passengers' nucleic acid tests. 

Airlines on the same route can fly a maximum of two flights per week if they report zero positive test results for inbound passengers for three consecutive weeks.

China Eastern Airlines operated two flights from Vientiane to Kunming and from Tokyo to Shanghai from June 15 to July 5 once a week, with zero positive results for coronavirus, which qualified the carrier for the incentive, said the CAAC statement. 

Additionally, busy inbound flights have resulted in Shanghai nearing its reception limits. Thus, the CAAC gave the green light to the application by China Eastern Airlines to operate the flight linking Xi'an and Tokyo. 

Conversely, circuit breakers will be activated if the number of passengers testing positive for COVID-19 after entry reached five. The airline they flew on will be suspended for one week. If the number hits 10, the suspension will last four weeks.

The circuit breaker was tripped for the first time in mid-June when the CAAC decided to suspend China Southern Airlines flight CZ392 from Dhaka, Bangladesh to Guangzhou for four weeks after 17 passengers on that flight tested positive for the disease.

Global Times