Talks are underway between the U.S. and China on possible changes to apparent new aircraft-cleaning requirements that prompted a Delta Air Lines Inc. flight to turn back to Seattle and that could upend air travel into the Asian nation.
The discussions were confirmed Tuesday by a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity. China’s new sanitation mandates — spurred by the spread of COVID-19 — significantly extend the time planes are on the ground and largely copy steps that U.S. airlines already take to clean between flights, representatives for the industry said. There also is a shortage of available workers to carry out the added steps, they said.
The new requirements are part of the changes that countries and industries are making to try to slow the spread of the highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant.