China’s top Covid official says authorities working to let tourists stranded in Hainan go home

Vice-premier Sun Chunlan says around 150,000 visitors have been stranded in Hainan and says other provinces should not stop them returning home

The authorities announced that commerical flights will resume from Sanya’s airport on Monday, but travellers will need approval

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A tourist undergoes security checks before catching her flight home at Haikou Meilan International Airport in Hainan. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:47pm, 14 Aug 2022Updated: 9:05am, 15 Aug 2022

China’s top official leading the country’s fight against Covid-19 has said the authorities have stepped up efforts to let tourists stranded on the southern island of Hainan return home.

During an inspection tour on Saturday, vice-premier Sun Chunlan stressed that services provided to stranded tourists should be guaranteed and other provinces and cities should not bar them from going home.

On Sunday the provincial authorities announced that commercial flights at Sanya’s airport would resume the following day, but all outbound travellers will need approval based on having no new cases in their tour group and the hotels and districts they are staying in.

Hainan, an island province sometimes compared to Hawaii, is one of the country’s most popular domestic tourist destinations, especially since Covid controls have made foreign travel almost impossible.

So far this month, the island has reported more than 7,700 infections, with Sanya, a popular resort town, being the epicentre.

Many cities are currently locked down and flights and train services have been suspended.

State news agency Xinhua reported that on an inspection tour of Sanya, Sun said: “About 150,000 tourists have been stranded in Hainan due to the pandemic, and relevant parties are speeding up efforts to facilitate their return trips.

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