EASA and ECDC issue joint statement: EU agrees on guidelines for inbound flights from China

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The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) issued a joint statement on January 10 local time announcing that Europe has agreed on aviation-related measures for China, adding some recommendations to the Aviation Health Safety Protocol jointly issued by the two agencies.

The recommendations apply immediately to flights arriving in the EU from China, according to the measures agreed upon by EU member states. The recommendations include: requiring passengers on both direct and non-direct flights to provide pre-departure test results; recommending that both passengers and crew wear medical masks or respiratory masks; enhancing cleaning and disinfection on relevant flights; taking into account the vaccination status of crew members whenever possible; the possibility of randomly testing some of the arriving passengers; genome sequencing should be carried out to obtain early information on any potential new Genome sequencing should be conducted to obtain early information on any potential new variants of the virus emerging in the region of epidemic and origin; wastewater should be tested at all airports with international flights and on aircraft arriving from China to monitor infection levels and track any potential new variants.

The statement noted that the measures should not cause any flight delays or compromise flight safety and that the recommended measures will be evaluated regularly.

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At a regular press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Jan. 10, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that after China issued a general plan for the “category B control” of new coronavirus infections and temporary measures for the movement of Chinese and foreign personnel, many countries welcomed the announcement. However, a few countries have announced entry restrictions on travelers from China, to which China, with the utmost sincerity and in a pragmatic manner, has fully communicated with the countries concerned, introducing in detail the scientific and reasonable nature of China’s optimized adjustment of epidemic prevention measures and the current domestic epidemic situation in China.

Wang Wenbin said, but it is regrettable that a few countries still insist on taking discriminatory entry restrictions against China in disregard of scientific facts and the actual epidemic situation in their own countries. China is firmly opposed to this and has taken reciprocal measures. Wang Wenbin said, we once again call on the relevant countries from the facts, scientific and appropriate formulation of epidemic prevention measures, should not take the opportunity to engage in political manipulation, should not be discriminatory practices, and should not affect the normal people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between countries.