(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- The US government has imposed restrictions on the number of passengers carried by four flights operated by Chinese airlines to the US after the Chinese government imposed a similar limit on United Airlines following five passengers testing positive for Covid-19 on a flight to Shanghai last month.

Air China flight CA 987 from Beijing to Los Angeles, China Eastern flight MU 587 from Shanghai to New York, China Southern Airlines flight CZ 237 from Guangzhou to Los Angeles and Xiamen Airlines flight MF 829 from Xiamen to Los Angeles can only travel at 40 percent capacity for the next four weeks, the US Transportation Department said today.

The move is likely to drive up prices even further as seats become increasingly scarce amid a wave of Chinese students heading for the US after a travel ban on those travelling with a student visa was lifted earlier this month. Despite the surge in demand, there are still less flights per week between China and the US than there used to be per day before the pandemic.

As a result, fares have skyrocketed. It now costs as much as CNY30,000 (USD4,632) to fly economy class to the US via Hong Kong, a jump of 50 percent from a few months ago. The price of a business class ticket is CNY100,000 (USD15,440). This is likely to rise further as travelers are now forced to transit through different countries to reach the US, industry insiders said.

Five passengers on United Airlines flight UA857 from San Francisco to Shanghai tested positive for Covid-19 on July 21, triggering a ‘circuit breaker’ mechanism set up by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Editor: Kim Taylor