Entering the third year of the pandemic, China’s unbending approach to COVID-19 has left the world’s second-largest economy all but shut off from international travel — with fewer than 500 inbound flights scheduled this week, compared with about 10,000 this time two years ago.
Capacity cuts are intensifying as China tries to snuff out virus flare-ups with aggressive lockdowns.
Since mid-December, airlines have eliminated almost 1,000 flights that would have arrived in the country between now and Feb. 1, the start of the Lunar New Year — typically the busiest time for travel anywhere on the planet.