Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Photo: cnsphoto

Sold air tickets for the Spring Festival period dated from January 28 to March 8 are subject to no cost refund, said China's civil aviation regulator on Tuesday in a bid to minimize mobility during the Spring Festival holiday and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Passengers who have bought tickets bound for the Spring Festival period (January 28 to March 8) can refund their ticket or reschedule the tickets free of charge. The refund and reschedule policy will take effect from 12 am on Wednesday, according to a notice issued by Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Tuesday.

For flights from January 28 to February 3, passengers can apply for a refund or rescheduling from Wednesday until the departing time; for flights from February 4 to March 8 passengers can apply for refund or rescheduling from Wednesday until seven days before the flight takes off, read the notice.

The policy is however not applicable to passengers who have applied for refund or rescheduling before Wednesday.

The move is an extension to an earlier policy issued by civil aviation regulator on January 2 which requested airlines to implement ticket refund schemes for areas impacted by COVID-19.