Train G601 departs from Beijing Fengtai Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, June 20, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

Beijing and Shanghai are accelerating resumption of railway and air transportation on the eve of the summer travel peak after the two megacities emerged from a struggle with Omicron with no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases reported for days.

The continuously improving epidemic situation in the two cities has greatly boosted the confidence of industry insiders, encouraging them to roll out plans to seize opportunities in a potential business peak supporting by pressed demands during earlier flare-ups.

China Eastern Airlines announced that several new flights will be added between Shanghai and Beijing from Saturday, according to a notice of the airline's WeChat account on Friday. 



The airline operates four flights from Shanghai to Beijing on Saturday, and the number will increase to eight on Sunday and Monday, the notice showed.

Air China will gradually resume all flights between Beijing and Shanghai since Saturday, according to a notice on the airline's WeChat account.

China Southern Airlines plans to add one return flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to the Beijing Daxing International Airport from Sunday to Friday. An additional flight of the airline from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing Daxing will be added from Tuesday to Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. 

Shanghai will also gradually resume the operation of trains to Beijing from Saturday, according to CCTV.

As of Saturday, no new local COVID-19 cases have been reported in Shanghai for five consecutive days, and Beijing had no new local cases for two consecutive days, according to information on the official websites of the Shanghai and Beijing local health commission.

Recent data from travel platforms like Ctrip showed that as Shanghai and Beijing are consolidating their victory in the fight against the epidemic, the transport sector is expected to be boosted by demands rebounds this summer.

Transport industry insiders are optimistic about a recovery in business in July. Juneyao Airlines told the Global Times it has launched a plan to restore its transport capacity to 90 percent of the same period in July 2019.

Juneyao Airlines on Friday announced it will resume flights in Shanghai and other cities, and increase international flights while taking strict epidemic control measures amid its efforts to meet rising demands in summer peak, according to a press release sent to the Global Times.

"With the continuous improvement in the condition of epidemic prevention, air travel is expected to usher in a stronger recovery," said Tan Feng, marketing service director of Juneyao Airlines.

Global Times