Workers unload aid materials from a cargo plane of China Postal Airlines at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, Jan 29, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved several airlines' applications for charter flights to bring back travelers from Wuhan, Hubei province, who remained abroad due to the city's lockdown amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China noted that carriers should not refuse any passenger who has passed the health test from boarding the plane 

Staring from Jan 23, a number of airlines temporarily canceled flights to and from Wuhan, the center of the new pneumonia outbreak, in the light of health concerns about the spread of the epidemic. The disease has infected 7,711 and killed 170 on the Chinese mainland as of Wednesday midnight.

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With a large number of tourists who had left the country prior to the cancelation still remaining abroad, the administration approved charter flight service of several carriers to help the tourists return home as soon as possible.

It also noted that the companies should not refuse any passenger who has passed the health test from boarding the plane and should keep a record of crew member and passenger information.

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