Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

China wants more Canada flights after COVID-19 turbulence, despite tour-group ban

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Aug, 2023 09:59 AM
  • China wants more Canada flights after COVID-19 turbulence, despite tour-group ban

Beijing and Ottawa are in talks over how to increase flights between China and Canada, following an American deal in June.

Transport Canada says the weekly number of flights between the two countries has dropped drastically, from more than one hundred per week in the summer of 2019 to just 10 this season.

The decline stems from China's strict COVID-19 rules that Beijing relaxed earlier this year, which included limits on foreign flights and frequent quarantines and testing for visitors.

Aviation analyst Helane Becker says those rules made airlines break up their flights, making stops in places like Korea to rotate crews, and no direct flight between China and Canada has been re-established since then.

Meanwhile, Beijing has kept Canada out of an agreement that makes it easier for Chinese tour groups to travel abroad, citing the diplomatic strain around issues like foreign interference.

Yet both countries say they're in talks to increase the number of flights, with Ottawa hinting it might seek a deal similar to a recent American agreement.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Body found in Oak Bay identified

Body found in Oak Bay identified
Police in Saanich say they have identified a man found dead under suspicious circumstances in Oak Bay as Steven Middleton. They say the 33-year-old's body was found on Wednesday in the 200-block of Beach Drive and the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit has taken over the investigation.

Body found in Oak Bay identified

Robbery at a New Westminster pharmacy

Robbery at a New Westminster pharmacy
At around 2:30pm on Thursday, New Westminster Police were called to a pharmacy on 12th Street after an employee described two suspects armed with a firearm robbed the business of money and prescription medicine.  

Robbery at a New Westminster pharmacy

IHIT identifies Richmond shooting victim as Ravinder Samra

IHIT identifies Richmond shooting victim as Ravinder Samra
They say officers found Samra with gunshot wounds and he was later pronounced dead at the scene. Police say they believe a vehicle that was found on fire nearby about 10 minutes later is associated with the shooting.  

IHIT identifies Richmond shooting victim as Ravinder Samra

Free transit from Aug 6-Aug 31 in the Fraser Valley

Free transit from Aug 6-Aug 31 in the Fraser Valley
Transit will also be free (excluding tickets and pass products) for riders on conventional transit from the resumption of service on August 6 through to August 31, 2023. BC Transit and the local government partners want to thank everyone for their patience during the service disruption

Free transit from Aug 6-Aug 31 in the Fraser Valley

B.C. real estate agent fined $20,000 after being caught swigging milk at home showing

B.C. real estate agent fined $20,000 after being caught swigging milk at home showing
A consent order released by the BC Financial Services Authority last week says Mike Rose was alone in the home in Kamloops, B.C., in July last year as he waited for his clients, who were interested in buying the property. 

B.C. real estate agent fined $20,000 after being caught swigging milk at home showing

Hundreds allowed to return home near Kamloops as evacuation order eases

Hundreds allowed to return home near Kamloops as evacuation order eases
An evacuation order covering hundreds of properties south of Kamloops, B.C., has been scaled back to an alert as crews make good progress containing a wildfire about 10 kilometres south of the city.  The Thompson-Nicola Regional District is allowing residents of 327 properties to return home, although they must be ready to leave again on short notice.

Hundreds allowed to return home near Kamloops as evacuation order eases