First flights leave Chinese city Xi'an as travel curbs ease

22/1/2022 18:50

        The first commercial airline flights in one month took off Saturday from Xi'an in western China as the government eased travel curbs imposed after a coronavirus outbreak ahead of next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
        
        Seven planes took off, according to the website of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. It said four were due to arrive Sunday.
        
        Access to Xi'an, a city of 13 million people about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) southwest of Beijing, was suspended Dec. 22 following an outbreak attributed to the coronavirus's delta variant.
        
        The ruling Communist Party has stepped up enforcement of its "zero tolerance" strategy that aims to keep the virus out of China by finding and isolating every infected person. It suspended access to Xi'an and other cities after outbreaks were found.