Staff workers at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport check passenger information on March 25, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

China has witnessed a staggering freefall in the number of international flights after the aviation regulator rolled out orders cutting down flights in and out of the country to curtail the rising number of imported cases of the novel coronavirus.

Jin Junhao, an official with the transport department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the number of weekly international flights is expected to drop to 108 between March 29 and April 4, an 85 percent decrease from last week - only 1.2 percent of international flight volume prior to the pandemic.

Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in Guangdong province - the country's three largest civil aviation hubs - will operate a total of 61 international flights this week, an 89 percent drop from last week, he said at a daily briefing on Monday.

As airlines are also required to limit passenger capacity on international flights to under 75 percent, the number of inbound air travelers will plunge from 25,000 to about 4,000 every day during the week, he said.

The drop in flights affected overseas Chinese most, especially students who study abroad. Passenger load factor has been on the rise recently, he said, adding the administration will arrange temporary or chartered flights to bring back overseas Chinese in cities with mass demand and capability to receive flights.

Jin also noted international flights to Beijing have been diverted to a dozen cities and provinces including Shanghai, Tianjin and Shandong province, where all passengers must be tested for the virus upon disembarking. Those found not to carry the pathogen are allowed to reboard the aircraft to the capital.

As of Sunday, a total of 100 flights bound for Beijing have been diverted to designated airports, with nearly 83 percent of the 23,157 passengers failing to pass health and quarantine inspection and staying in entry cities for 14-day isolation, he said.