SHANGHAI - CHINA'S civil aviation authority revoked two routes run by China Eastern Airlines to popular tourist destinations after pilots turned back flights in a suspected strike, state media said on Wednesday.

China Eastern is stripped of the routes from Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan, to Xishuangbanna and Dali, also in Yunnan, China News Agency reported, citing the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Twenty-one flights of China Eastern in the province reversed course in late March and early April in what has been widely reported in the state-run press as a protest launched by the pilots in hopes of better work conditions.

The order, effective from May 4, transferred the rights to operate the two routes to several other domestic carriers, including flagship carrier Air China and private airline Lucky Air.

It also cut the number of flights on other routes operated by China Eastern from Kunming to cities in Yunnan. -- AFP