Passengers wear protective masks and suits against the coronavirus disease as they wait for their check-in for an Air China flight at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, March 15, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

China civil aviation authorities will cap the number of inbound flights to the country in a bid to tighten the control of imported cases of novel coronavirus.

According to a notice issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Friday, all Chinese and overseas airlines will be required to maintain their current level of international flights or cut them back, based on this week's flight plans for March 16 to March 22.

It also requires airlines that have approval for flight plans, to make advance applications to the administration's operations and monitoring center.

This week's flight plan shows that 2,072 inbound round trips are expected to be made from 52 countries, with 1,165 passenger flights and 907 cargo trips.

Next week, the country's airports will handle 2,003 inbound round trips, including 1,073 passenger flights, the administration said.