A Boeing 747-8 in Daxing International Airport in Beijing Photo: IC

Hundreds of flights to and from Beijing have or are likely to be canceled on Wednesday after Beijing raised its emergency response to Level II, under which Beijing residents who want to leave the city are required to show they have had a negative nucleic acid test within seven days of departure.

Beijing raised its COVID-19 emergency response to Level II from Level III on Tuesday night, reinstating closed management on communities, requiring people to have their temperatures taken upon entry, register as resident, and conform to health codes. Communities, sub-districts in high to middle risk areas can ban outsiders and their cars from entering. Communities in high risk sub-districts will be under lockdown management, under which no one is allowed to leave.

Those who must leave Beijing are acquired to obtain a negative COVID-19 nucleic acid test certificate taken no longer than seven days prior to departure.

Flight information provided by VariFlight, shows that as of 11:45 pm Tuesday, 163 flights scheduled to leave Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday have been or will likely be cancelled, accounting for about 40 percent of flights. Seventy-six flights scheduled to leave Beijing Daxing International Airport have been or are likely to be cancelled, accounting for almost 40 percent of flights. 

The number of flights cancelled from and to Beijing Capital International Airport has increased significantly. Among 786 scheduled flights, 313 have been cancelled, accounting for 40 percent of the total and double the previous day's cancellations.

Civil aviation industry insiders expect that as epidemic control measures continue to be upgraded, flights to and from Beijing could be more adversely affected.