Delta Shanghai-bound Flight Turns Around in Midair Due to New COVID Rules
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images Delta airplane
New COVID-related cleaning requirements at a Shanghai airport are what prompted a recent Shanghai-bound flight from Seattle to turn around mid-air – and a protest from the San Francisco-based Chinese consulate.
The unexpected Delta Airlines flight turnaround left many Chinese citizens on board stranded with expired visas and COVID-19 test results, according to the state-run Global Times.
Delta Airlines did not immediately get back to PEOPLE in a request for comment, although it said in a statement to the Associated Press on Monday that Shanghai Pudong International Airport has activated new mandates that "require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for Delta."
Though the details of the new aircraft cleaning rules and the reason behind it are unclear, the changes come just as the city of Xi'an – roughly 600 miles outside of Beijing, where the 2022 Winter Olympics are set to kick off in a matter of weeks – is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. Despite its strict zero-COVID strategy, upwards of 300 new cases were reported in Xi'an over the holiday weekend, adding to the 143 infections the city had already reported since Dec. 9.
RELATED: China Locking Down City of 13 Million to Deal with COVID Outbreak
Furthermore, the Global Times said in a Monday news conference that the Chinese government announced its anticipation of an increase in cases in the coming days, "with possible sporadic flare-ups," even with the stringent lockdown of 13 million people in Xi'an.
Delta isn't the only airlines reacting to the stricter cleaning protocols. China Airlines and EVA Air – both Taiwan-based airlines – have been forced to cut back on their flights to the Shanghai airport, alluding to the time-consuming disinfection measures, per Taiwan's Central News Agency.
On Sunday, the Chinese consulate in San Francisco acknowledged in a statement that numerous recent flights to China had been canceled or delayed, calling out a flight that turned around halfway to Shanghai.
The consulate said it "made a stern representation to the airline."
RELATED: United, Delta, Alaska Airlines Cancel Hundreds of Flights on Christmas Eve Due to Omicron's Spread
On Christmas Eve, Delta also announced it would be forced to cut 90 flights, citing both coronavirus and severe weather in some areas of the country.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, a spokeperson said, "Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying — before canceling. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their holiday travel plans. Delta people are working hard to get them to where they need to be as quickly and as safely as possible on the next available flight."
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