Logan Airport accepts last inbound flight from China

BOSTON — Logan Airport accepted its last flight from China on Sunday night. On Friday the Trump administration ordered all flights to be funneled through select airports in the country so passengers can be properly screened.

A couple of passengers on the last flight from Hong Kong to Logan told Boston 25 News that there is confusion both in China and the states about how air travel is going to work moving forward.

Because that flight took off before the 5 p.m. deadline, they were able to land in Boston on Sunday, just in time.

“We were like, ‘just get us to the U.S. and we’ll figure out a way to get home,’” said Jason Rehfeld of Los Angeles.

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Jason and Roxanne Rehfeld were on the last flight from Hong Kong, arriving at Logan around 8:30 p.m. The couple said trying to leave China before the travel restrictions took effect was difficult and confusing.

“Things were changing pretty much every hour, every minute,” Roxanne said. “So they were all talking to each other trying to figure out what’s going on because no one knows what’s going on.”

The Department of Homeland Security is now adding additional airports to their list of those that will continue accepting passengers from China.

As of Sunday night, Washington D.C. will accept flights. Starting Monday morning, Newark, New Jersey, Dallas, Texas and Detroit, Michigan will also be added, bringing the total number of airports permitting flights from China to 11.

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There DHS says all passengers will go through enhanced screening for the coronavirus, and travelers from the Hubei province will be subject to a two-week quarantine.

“We’re grateful that we were able to be there and really grateful that we were able to get back,” Jason Rehfeld said.

The mandate states that foreign nationals who have traveled to China within two weeks of their arrival here will be denied entry into the U.S.

The latest briefing from the CDC states that they do expect more cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. but added that the risk for infection remains low.

Coronavirus latest: Direct flights from China to Logan suspended, 1st case in Mass. confirmed The last flight from China touched down in Boston Sunday night, the day after health officials said a Massachusetts student who had recently visited Wuhan, China, was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the state.

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