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SHANGHAI — The last time Emsley Helms hugged her father was when she dropped him off at the airport after celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday in 2019. He boarded a flight to start his journey home to Shanghai, where he has lived for about a decade.
“None of us were expecting to not see him three years later,” Helms said.
Helms’ father had plans to visit in March 2020 for her sister’s birthday but that trip was postponed due to the pandemic. The family has since tried to rebook his trip, but his flights continued to be canceled.
“The flight my dad has been trying to book has been canceled four times,” she said. “If there are any positive cases on flights going back to China, that flight is either canceled or delayed.”
The cancellations have created a snowball effect and ultimately hikes ticket prices, Helms said. Before the pandemic, her …