February 4th, 2022 is the day that the Beijing Winter Games starts. With COVID cases surging, China is doing it’s best to try and keep the cases low ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

All flights from the USA to China are now in jeopardy as China increases their aviation regulations. Only 2 flights are still scheduled around the start date of the Olympics, with one of them being United Airlines (UAL).

One of the rules implemented ahead of the Winter Games is if five or more passengers test positive before a flight, that flight is suspended for two weeks if that aircraft is heading to China. This is known as the “circuit-breaker” rule and is an “an important step to reduce the risk of cross-border spread of the epidemic.”

China is one of the few countries with a strict zero-COVID policy.

A fraction of the 9,000+ international flights that were headed to China were canceled, and China has cut back on a fair share of international travel. If the trend of positive COVID cases keeps up, the flight schedules could cause further cancellations and restrictions, leaving the 2022 Winter Olympics with a plethora of questions.