China's Shenzhen international airport cancelled at least 200 flights today following a single positive Covid-19 test, as Chinese authorities continue to clamp down on even the smallest outbreaks of the disease.
An employee at a restaurant at the Shenzhen Bao'an airport was found to have Covid-19 during nucleic acid screening tests earlier today, leading to over 200 inbound and outbound flights being cancelled as of 6pm, according to data from flight tracker Variflight.
Shenzhen Bao'an, China's fifth biggest airport by passenger numbers, has closed all shops and restaurants and is requiring crew members to present a negative nucleic acid test within 48 hours. Anyone who came into contact with the affected employee has been quarantined.
A Covid-19 outbreak last month in Guangdong province, where Shenzhen is located, has led to multiple flight cancellations at the Guangzhou Baiyun and Shenzhen Bao'an airports. A confirmed case at Shenzhen's Yantian port has also created severe vessel congestion there.
China recorded an average of 14,400 flights a day in May, down by about 4pc from a month earlier but 52pc higher than May 2020 levels, civil aviation administration data show. But flight numbers fell from a 15-month high in April, largely because of travel curbs resulting from the Guangdong outbreak.
China's apparent jet fuel demand reached 896,800 b/d in April, up by 15pc from a month earlier and 14pc higher than pre-Covid levels in April 2019.
Mainland China reported 23 new Covid-19 cases as of 2pm today, four more than yesterday, including nine in Guangdong province. The government has called for people to cancel unnecessary travel to Guangdong to contain the outbreak.
