Passenger flights on the tarmac at Kunming Changshui International Airport, Yunnan Province Photo: VCG

The Chinese Consulate General in New York has arranged for select overseas Chinese students in its jurisdiction to fly on a provisional flight back to China, according to a notice issued on Monday on its WeChat account. The passengers are required to present negative nucleic acid tests before boarding, and cannot use antigen test or antibody test results as a replacement.

The journey will be flown by China Eastern Airlines flight MU7228, which will fly from New York to Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province, departing from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 1 pm Eastern Time on August 30, according to the notice. 

The Consulate General reminded students to be aware of incoming phone calls from China Eastern Airlines, which is now calling candidates to book tickets based on a list provided by the Consulate General.

The students that decide to return China on the provisional flight must undergo a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 120 hours before their departure, the notice said, adding antigen test and antibody test are not accepted. 

The travelers must also hold two paper copies of the test certificate issued by the relevant testing agency to check-in, and will still need to pass through existing epidemic prevention requirements, including presenting a green health code and taking a body temperature check. 

Between April 11 to June 5, approximately 7,000 Chinese students in the US returned to China on 32 provisional flights arranged by the Chinese authorities, the Chinese Embassy in the US said in an announcement on July 21. At the same time, it announced that it will continue to arrange such flights to help Chinese students having difficulties in the US make their way back to their home country. 

According to the embassy, students with F1, J1 or M visas who have finished their studies, teachers and volunteers who have finished their services in Confucius Institutes, and those holding certificates of eligibility Form I-20 or DS-2019 that have expired or will soon expire, are all qualified to register for the flights.