Major U.S. airlines and aviation unions on Thursday urged the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to pause approvals of additional flights between China and the United States, citing ongoing "anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government."
In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Chinese passenger airlines could boost weekly round-trip U.S. flights to 50 starting on March 31, up from the current 35, about a third of pre-pandemic levels. U.S. carriers were authorized as well to fly 50 flights per week but are currently not using all those flights.
Airlines for America, a trade group whose members include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, and unions in a letter to the Transportation and State departments cited the "advantage Chinese airlines receive by continuing to access Russian airspace, while U.S. carriers stopped flying through Russian airspace at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022."