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Red-eye Flights Take a Dive

At the recent Civil Aviation Security Conference, nine measures were passed to guarantee flight security. Included was the cancellation of so-called "Red-eye Midnight Flights" the tag given to midnight charter flights that are usually laid on during May Day, National Day, the Spring Festival and the summer vacation period. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), no such flights are now allowed to take place. In future, requests by carriers to arrange these flights will require special CAAC permission.

Civil aviation insiders say red-eye flights will occasionally be allowed under certain conditions. Meanwhile, the CAAC sees no necessity for them when the volume of daytime passengers is low, leaving plenty of empty seats. The CAAC has also been concerned that midnight flights call for airport and airline staff to work extra hours, meaning that the potential exhaustion of the latter could present an in-flight danger.

Some passengers have pointed out that red-eye flights badly affect passengers' sleep, resulting in their feeling hung over during the following day. Against this inconvenience, the prices for red-eye trips are lower than usual, thus providing travel agencies with the chance of charging more for some flights.