U.S. not to allow Chinese flights from June 16

U.S. not to allow Chinese flights from June 16

04/06/2020

U.S.-Chinese relations have soured in recent months amid tensions surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic and Beijing’s move to impose new national security legislation for Hong Kong.

The order applies to Air China, China Eastern Airlines Corp, China Southern Airlines Co and Hainan Airlines Holding Co, as well as smaller Sichuan Airlines Co and Xiamen Airlines Co. Chinese carriers are currently flying four round-trip flights to the U.S. weekly.

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have asked to resume flights to China this month, even as Chinese carriers have continued U.S. flights during the pandemic.

Delta said in a statement on Wednesday that “we support and appreciate the U.S. government’s actions to enforce our rights and ensure fairness.”

United said it looks forward to resuming passenger service between the U.S. and China “when the regulatory environment allows us to do so.”

China “remains unable” to say when it will revise its rules “to allow U.S. carriers to reinstate scheduled passenger flights,” a formal order signed by the Department of Transportation’s top aviation official Joel Szabat said.