Hundreds of flights to and from Beijing have been canceled on Wednesday as the capital raised its public health emergency response from the third to the second level due to the new cluster of local COVID-19 infections.

American and United airlines say they will place passengers who refuse to wear a face mask on an "internal travel restriction list" and bar them from future flights for an indeterminate period.

China Southern Airlines, the largest airline by fleet size in Asia, joined with Sichuan Airlines on June 16 to announce that more air express routes will be created between the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Chengdu in Sichuan province and Beijing to provide more travel convenience for passengers, starting July.

South Australia (SA) has taken the first steps in reopening its borders to the rest of the country.

Air cargo is playing an increasingly important role in the fight against COVID-19, as a substantial number of passenger aircraft have been grounded due to the pandemic.

Hundreds of flights to and from Beijing, as well as numerous interprovincial bus services, were canceled on Wednesday as the authorities ramped up restrictions on people leaving the capital to contain the recent flare-up of local COVID-19 infections.

In accordance with relevant provisions of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China, Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China and the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China, and based on the epidemic development, it is decided to adjust designated first points of entry into China for international passenger flights bound for Beijing. It is hereby announced as follows:

China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by passenger volume, added two Boeing 777 cargo aircraft to its fleet and pledged to enhance its cargo capacity via retrofitted passenger aircraft to bolster the country's insufficient airfreight capacity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's aviation regulator ordered on Sunday a four-week suspension of a China Southern Airlines flight from Dhaka to Guangzhou in an effort to prevent imported COVID-19 cases.

Venture heralds aviation boom as province develops free trade port