According to reports, a Delta Airlines flight from Seattle was turned back midair due to lack of "pandemic-related cleaning requirements" at Shanghai airport.

The move reportedly led to protests from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. The Chinese consulate has reportedly made a "stern representation to the airline" even as several flights to China have been cancelled in recent days. &nbsp;

The development comes as China continues to battle the virus ahead of the Winter Olympics in February 2022. In October, Chinese authorities had grounded hundreds of flights in Beijing due to a surge in coronavirus cases.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-reports-206-new-covid-19-infections-highest-in-21-months-440065">Also Read:&nbsp;&nbsp;China reports 206 new COVID-19 infections, highest in 21 months</a>

Reports claimed the passengers were left with expired COVID-19 test results after the Delta airlines flight was turned back.&nbsp;

Delta airlines had cancelled hundreds of flights during Christmas in the United States amid the Omicron variant threat as reports claimed commercial airliners worldwide had cancelled over 4,500 flights during the heavy Christmas weekend.&nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;China records biggest COVID-19 infection surge

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Reports say Taiwan has also reduced flights to Shanghai airport over disinfection procedures.

The development comes as China moved to clamp down flights in COVID-hit Xi'an city which has emerged as the new epicentre of the virus.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amid-mass-testing-and-lockdown-china-orders-migrants-in-xian-not-to-leave-city-440372">Also Read:&nbsp;Amid lockdown, China orders migrants in Xi'an not to leave city</a>

Chinese authorities have&nbsp;put several cities under lockdown in the past two months including in the northwestern city of Lanzhou and the Inner Mongolian county of Ejin.

China has been plagued by local flare-ups of COVID-19 cases with the Delta variant being the dominant strain.

(With inputs from Agencies)

According to reports, a Delta Airlines flight from Seattle was turned back midair due to lack of "pandemic-related cleaning requirements" at Shanghai airport. The move reportedly led to protests from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco.

According to reports, a Delta Airlines flight from Seattle was turned back midair due to lack of "pandemic-related cleaning requirements" at Shanghai airport. The move reportedly led to protests from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. The Chinese consulate has reportedly made a "stern representation to the airline" even as several flights to China have been cancelled in recent days. The development comes as China continues to battle the virus ahead of the Winter Olympics in February 2022. In October, Chinese authorities had grounded hundreds of flights in Beijing due to a surge in coronavirus cases. Also Read: China reports 206 new COVID-19 infections, highest in 21 months Reports claimed the passengers were left with expired COVID-19 test results after the Delta airlines flight was turned back. Delta airlines had cancelled hundreds of flights during Christmas in the United States amid the Omicron variant threat as reports claimed commercial airliners worldwide had cancelled over 4,500 flights during the heavy Christmas weekend. Watch: China records biggest COVID-19 infection surge Reports say Taiwan has also reduced flights to Shanghai airport over disinfection procedures. The development comes as China moved to clamp down flights in COVID-hit Xi'an city which has emerged as the new epicentre of the virus. Also Read: Amid lockdown, China orders migrants in Xi'an not to leave city Chinese authorities have put several cities under lockdown in the past two months including in the northwestern city of Lanzhou and the Inner Mongolian county of Ejin. China has been plagued by local flare-ups of COVID-19 cases with the Delta variant being the dominant strain. (With inputs from Agencies)

US flight to Shanghai turns back midair due to lack of 'pandemic-related cleaning requirements'

Hundreds of flights at one of China's busiest airports were cancelled Tuesday as Shanghai raced to bring a local coronavirus outbreak under control. 
 
Health officials have tested thousands of staff at Pudong International Airport since a small cluster of Covid-19 cases in the city was linked to several cargo handlers.

China -- where the virus first emerged late last year -- has largely brought the pandemic under control through travel restrictions and lockdowns, but it is now battling a number of domestic outbreaks in different cities.

Shanghai has reported seven local infections linked to the airport this month, with most cases found in the past few days.

The outbreak has sparked plans to give high-risk workers at the travel hub and experimental vaccine China has already been providing to state employees, international students and essential workers heading abroad since July.

On Tuesday, figures from data services firm VariFlight showed that over 500 flights out of Pudong Airport had been called off -- nearly half the day's scheduled flights.

Almost half of the scheduled inbound flights were also cancelled.

More than 17,700 people had been swabbed by Monday morning at part of a drive to test airport cargo staff, state news agency Xinhua reported, with those infected including employees at logistics firms FedEx and UPS.

Videos shared Sunday night on social media appeared to show a large crowd at the airport trying to push their way into a multi-storey car park where the testing was taking place and being held back by a row of people wearing full hazmat suits.

Later footage published by Shanghai health officials showed rows of people queuing at what appears to be the same location and being ushered to testing stations by health workers.

Nearly half of all scheduled flights were also cancelled at Tianjin International Airport, a northern port city testing around 2.6 million people to try and bring a local cluster under control.

Tianjin reported five local cases on Saturday and another on Tuesday.

China has been rolling out mass-screening campaigns in response to the emergence of local Covid-19 cases, in some instances collecting test samples from entire districts or cities.

Authorities have in recent days shifted their focus to imported frozen food and other inbound shipments, which have been blamed for a resurgence of local infections.

Hundreds of flights at one of China's busiest airports were cancelled Tuesday as Shanghai raced to bring a local coronavirus outbreak under control. Health officials have tested thousands of staff at Pudong International Airport since a small cluster of Covid-19 cases in the city was linked to several cargo handlers.

Hundreds of flights at one of China's busiest airports were cancelled Tuesday as Shanghai raced to bring a local coronavirus outbreak under control. Health officials have tested thousands of staff at Pudong International Airport since a small cluster of Covid-19 cases in the city was linked to several cargo handlers. China -- where the virus first emerged late last year -- has largely brought the pandemic under control through travel restrictions and lockdowns, but it is now battling a number of domestic outbreaks in different cities. Shanghai has reported seven local infections linked to the airport this month, with most cases found in the past few days. The outbreak has sparked plans to give high-risk workers at the travel hub and experimental vaccine China has already been providing to state employees, international students and essential workers heading abroad since July. On Tuesday, figures from data services firm VariFlight showed that over 500 flights out of Pudong Airport had been called off -- nearly half the day's scheduled flights. Almost half of the scheduled inbound flights were also cancelled. More than 17,700 people had been swabbed by Monday morning at part of a drive to test airport cargo staff, state news agency Xinhua reported, with those infected including employees at logistics firms FedEx and UPS. Videos shared Sunday night on social media appeared to show a large crowd at the airport trying to push their way into a multi-storey car park where the testing was taking place and being held back by a row of people wearing full hazmat suits. Later footage published by Shanghai health officials showed rows of people queuing at what appears to be the same location and being ushered to testing stations by health workers. Nearly half of all scheduled flights were also cancelled at Tianjin International Airport, a northern port city testing around 2.6 million people to try and bring a local cluster under control. Tianjin reported five local cases on Saturday and another on Tuesday. China has been rolling out mass-screening campaigns in response to the emergence of local Covid-19 cases, in some instances collecting test samples from entire districts or cities. Authorities have in recent days shifted their focus to imported frozen food and other inbound shipments, which have been blamed for a resurgence of local infections.

Shanghai tackles coronavirus outbreak, hundreds of flights cancelled

Staff at Shanghai's biggest international airport are facing mass testing after a small outbreak of Covid-19 in the city was linked to several cargo handlers, with plans underway to vaccinate high-risk workers.

Life in China -- where the virus first emerged late last year -- has largely returned to normal following strict testing and harsh lockdowns, but there has been a series of sporadic local outbreaks over recent months.

Shanghai has reported six local infections linked to the airport this month, with most of the cases in the past few days.

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*Chaos at Shanghai Pudong Airport after three recent confirmed COVID-19 cases are airport workers. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#上海</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%E6%B5%A6%E4%B8%9C?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#浦东</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/China?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#China</a> <a href="https://t.co/cHcwcRay9d">pic.twitter.com/cHcwcRay9d</a>
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Overnight Sunday into Monday, workers in full protective gear ushered Pudong International Airport staff into a multi-storey car park to have the virus test, with videos posted online by Shanghai health authorities showing scores of people filing into the facility.

More than 17,700 people had been swabbed by Monday morning in the drive to test airport cargo staff, the official Xinhua news agency reported, and results had come back negative on over 11,500 so far.

Frontline cargo workers will be given regular tests in the future and those in high-risk jobs will also be given vaccines for Covid-19, Xinhua added, citing Shanghai Airport Authority vice-president Zhou Junlong, who said the process would be voluntary.

China has been giving experimental Covid-19 vaccines to people including state employees, international students and essential workers heading abroad since July.

On Monday authorities said two cargo handlers at the airport who tested positive earlier this month had entered and cleaned a container arriving from North America -- without wearing masks -- in late October.

China has been rolling out mass-testing campaigns upon the emergence of local cases, and authorities have recently shifted their focus to imported frozen food and other imports, which are blamed for a resurgence of local infections.

A cluster of domestic cases has also been reported in the northern port city of Tianjin, where state media said 2.6 million people are being tested.

Staff at Shanghai's biggest international airport are facing mass testing after a small outbreak of Covid-19 in the city was linked to several cargo handlers, with plans underway to vaccinate high-risk workers.

Staff at Shanghai's biggest international airport are facing mass testing after a small outbreak of Covid-19 in the city was linked to several cargo handlers, with plans underway to vaccinate high-risk workers. Life in China -- where the virus first emerged late last year -- has largely returned to normal following strict testing and harsh lockdowns, but there has been a series of sporadic local outbreaks over recent months. Shanghai has reported six local infections linked to the airport this month, with most of the cases in the past few days. *Chaos at Shanghai Pudong Airport after three recent confirmed COVID-19 cases are airport workers. #上海 #浦东 #China pic.twitter.com/cHcwcRay9d — ChinaPropertyFocus (@ChinaPropFocus) November 22, 2020 × Overnight Sunday into Monday, workers in full protective gear ushered Pudong International Airport staff into a multi-storey car park to have the virus test, with videos posted online by Shanghai health authorities showing scores of people filing into the facility. More than 17,700 people had been swabbed by Monday morning in the drive to test airport cargo staff, the official Xinhua news agency reported, and results had come back negative on over 11,500 so far. Frontline cargo workers will be given regular tests in the future and those in high-risk jobs will also be given vaccines for Covid-19, Xinhua added, citing Shanghai Airport Authority vice-president Zhou Junlong, who said the process would be voluntary. China has been giving experimental Covid-19 vaccines to people including state employees, international students and essential workers heading abroad since July. On Monday authorities said two cargo handlers at the airport who tested positive earlier this month had entered and cleaned a container arriving from North America -- without wearing masks -- in late October. China has been rolling out mass-testing campaigns upon the emergence of local cases, and authorities have recently shifted their focus to imported frozen food and other imports, which are blamed for a resurgence of local infections. A cluster of domestic cases has also been reported in the northern port city of Tianjin, where state media said 2.6 million people are being tested.

Watch: Shanghai airport plunged into chaos after worker tests positive for Covid, mass testing begins