CAAC makes it easier for flight crews recovered from COVID to go back to duty, as the number of COVID-positive cases will inevitably surge in China.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) published its latest policy document regarding how flight crews to go back to duty after recovering from COVID on December 14th, one week after the full-scale relaxation of the strict COVID prevention.
The policy document was called "Administrative Measures for Flight Crew to Resume Operation after Coronavirus Infection (Interim)," and it applies to every domestic airline under CCAR-121 (scheduled air carrier) and CCAR-135 (commercial, non-scheduled aircraft operations).
As China fully adjusted its prevention and control policies, the number of COVID positive cases is surging (Chinese epidemiologist estimate more than 840 million people will be infected). Civil aviation practitioners, especially flight crews, are more likely to be infected by COVID than the normal crowd.
The previous policy and procedure for civil aviation practitioners to go back to duty after recovering from COVID infection were issued by the Flight Standard Division of CAAC in August 2022. Before this, the policy was initially issued in September 2020.
According to the previous policy, the process is long, and the standards are relatively high. For example, an expert committee will complete all medical certification assessments of all flight crews after recovering from COVID infection, and the process usually takes months. And almost every flight student who had COVID has been rejected by the airlines.
Additionally, because there are some "grey areas" in the policy document, therefore the airlines have certain maneuverability. In reality, some airlines indefinitely delay the flight crew from back to duty.
Therefore, with the expectation of massive infection among flight crews in the following months, the previous policies are completely unsuitable for the current situation.
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The new policies give more flexibility to individuals than to the airlines previously. Before the latest policies, almost all flight crews from domestic airlines were required to get a nucleic acid test every 48 hours. A negative test result within 24 hours prior to the duty is required for performing the duty.
Also, the new policies give specific requirements for those who left duty for less than 30 days due to COVID infection, which will cover the majority of the positive cases.
What do you think of the latest policy? Share your thought with Simple Flying in the comments.
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