Flights from two airports in Germany and Canada to Shanghai have been suspended for two weeks by China's civil aviation regulator following a number of imported COVID-19 cases.



Lufthansa's Flight LH728 from Frankfurt to Shanghai has been put on hold since Monday after five passengers on a flight tested positive for COVID-19 on June 18, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Thursday.



Air Canada's Flight AC025 from Vancouver to Shanghai was also grounded from Monday after five passengers on a flight also tested positive for COVID-19 on June 18.



The administration launched its suspension mechanism for international passenger flights in June 2020 and updated the policy in December 2020 to help contain the spread of coronavirus.



A flight suspension is extended from one week to two if the number of passengers testing positive reaches five. The suspension lasts for four weeks if the number reaches 10.



If all of an airline's inbound passengers test negative three weeks in a row, it will be allowed to increase its flights to two per week.