The U.S. to Ban Passenger Flights from China
The U.S. to Ban Passenger Flights from China
The U.S. government is to ban passenger flights from China from 16 June after Beijing has denied letting American airlines resume service to China, said the Trump administration on Wednesday.
China in March ordered a limitation on all domestic and foreign airlines, allowing to operate only one flight a week between China and any given overseas destination.
Therefore, last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has requested permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) for American flights to resume service after U.S. airlines had voluntarily suspend passenger flights to China in February as a concern over the Covid-19 pandemic. However, CAAC has rejected DOT’s request.
U.S. claimed that the refusal of allowing American airlines to resume service this month violated a bilateral air transport agreement signed in 1980.
This recent Trump’s order will affect Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Xiamen, but the new regulations do not affect flights from Hong Kong, a Department of Transportation spokesman said.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have been asking to return to China after halt their service earlier this year because of the pandemic, but they have not yet received the approvals from Chinese aviation authorities to do so.
“We support and appreciate the U.S. government’s actions to enforce our rights and ensure fairness,” Delta said in a statement.
While United said, “We look forward to resuming passenger service between the United States and China when the regulatory environment allows us to do so.”
“Our overriding goal is not the perpetuation of this situation, but rather an improved environment wherein the carriers of both parties will be able to exercise fully their bilateral rights,” said the U.S. Department of Transportation’s order Wednesday. “Should the [Chinese aviation authority] adjust its policies to bring about the necessary improved situation for U.S. carriers, the Department is fully prepared to revisit the action it has announced in this order.”