Day 1 of Flight Diversions Show Many Quarantined Outside of Beijing, 11+ Hour Layovers

The first day of international flight diversions from Beijing has resulted in many passengers being quarantined in secondary cities and those flying on enduring layovers of more than 11 hours, according to Chinese media reports.

So far three of the four currently re-routed flights have landed. Here's what we're hearing:

CA926 from Tokyo to Beijing

According to CBNDaily, 80 percent of those that flew in on the Tokyo-Beijing flight that was routed to Hohhot yesterday were quarantined there, with only 19 passengers continuing on to Beijing after a 12-hour layover.

According to one passenger’s account, the plane, an Airbus A330 that normally seats close to 300, only had about 100 seats filled. Three passengers on the flight were feeling ill (two with fever and one that complained of an allergy) and were put into the back of the plane in a makeshift quarantine section.

Upon arrival, medical personnel boarded the plane to take the three passengers off as well as take temperatures of all other passengers. Next someone with a diplomatic passport and two children were allowed to disembark. Finally, all passengers were off the plane by 11pm, and while at the airport, they received another medical exam that included COVID-19 testing.

Next was customs and baggage claim. The passengers were in the airport for 12 hours before a small number of them were called to reboard the plane which landed this morning in Beijing. The remaining passengers were taken to a hotel in Hohhot, where they are currently quarantined for 14 days at a cost of RMB 350 per night.

The story does not explain the criteria for why some were allowed to return to Beijing and why others were quarantined in Hohhot, nor does it have an accounting of what proccess the passengers that flew on to Beijing this morning went through.

CA910 from Moscow to Beijing

Meanwhile, The Beijing News reports the second of the diverted planes, the CA910 from Moscow to Beijing, landed this morning in Tianjin at 7.17am with 224 passengers on it. Medical screening in Tianjin revealed one passenger with a fever and eight with coughs. The feverish passenger was sent to the hospital while the eight with coughs – plus 84 others that sat near the nine who were exhibiting symptoms – were quarantined at hotels in Tianjin. The remaining passengers went on to Beijing, where they arrived at 7.55pm this evening.

HU7976 from Toronto to Beijing

A third diverted flight, HU7976 from Toronto to Beijing, was diverted to Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, where it landed at 7.55pm and has yet to finish processing passengers as of 11.53pm.

CA934 from Paris to Beijing

The fourth and final flight, the CA934 from Paris to Beijing, is scheduled to stop over in Tianjin tomorrow, Mar 22.

READ: Flying Into Beijing? Here's a Handy Flowchart to Navigate Your Arrival

Image: Google Maps