International Airline Travel Creeps Back With ‘Bubble’ Corridors
- China-South Korea channel opens for prescreened travelers
- Anti-virus steps mean passengers are still in for a rough ride
Empty passenger seats sit in the Business Class cabin on board a British Airways flight from London to Hong Kong, on May 13.
Photographer: Laurel Chor/BloombergPlanes are flying again on a handful of international routes, creating a possible path to recovery for a battered industry. But with Covid-19 still spreading, aspiring passengers will have to navigate a patchy network that might include virus tests and weeks-long quarantine.
This month, China and South Korea opened a tightly controlled travel corridor between Seoul and 10 Chinese regions, including Shanghai. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania lifted travel restrictions between the three Baltic states on May 15. Australia and New Zealand are working to resume flights between the two countries, while the U.K. is also considering creating low-risk air corridors.