The Beijing Winter Olympics will primarily be relying on temporary and chartered flights from cities such as Tokyo and Singapore to fly in the athletes for the Games owing to China’s tight travel curbs amid concerns over Covid-19 according to an official on Friday.
An official with the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, Zhang Liang said at a briefing, “The omicron variant has already spread to over 50 countries, according to WHO data”.
He added, “The epidemic prevention situation is still severe and complicated.”
The Beijing Olympics, scheduled to begin on Feb. 4, will rely on chartered and temporary flights to bring in athletes and other Games attendees, with commercial flights as a supplement, noted Zhang.
Athletes and other attendees will have to arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport before entering a closed-loop, strictly separated from other areas of China, where they will remain for their entire stay before leaving.
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Chinese and foreign airlines will participate in organizing these temporary flights from cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, and Tokyo, he said.
“During the peak periods of arrivals and departures to Beijing, an average of at least 15 inbound flights and 13 outbound flights can be provided every day,” he said.
China has put in place strict limitations on flights into the country amid some of the tightest Covid-19 controls in the world.
