American officials backtracked a bit in their crackdown on Chinese passenger airlines and said on 4 June they would allow Chinese carriers the right to operate two weekly passenger flights to and from the United States. China said the initial restrictions were to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which has killed almost 400,000 people globally.
Download the revised order here.
The US Department of Transportation had earlier said it would bar Chinese airlines from flying passengers to and from the US saying Beijing had failed to approve resumption of these routes by US airlines. Beijing said in response it would ease flight restrictions on foreign carriers, allowing them one weekly flight to one city.
While the Department of Transportation said it would allow a total of two round-trip flights a week by Chinese airlines, the department also said China’s restrictions still impaired the rights of US carriers to operate flights under an agreement that governs air travel between the two countries.
While the order eases the threatened passenger flight ban, it will still cut in half the number of flights that Chinese carriers currently operate. Chinese carriers are permitted to operate a total of four weekly passenger flights to the U.S. under the limits Chinese aviation authorities set in March in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
“The department’s 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,” the department said in its revised order. “The most recent [Civil Aviation Administration of China] action has not created that environment.”
Currently four Chinese airlines — Air China, China Southern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and China Eastern Airlines — operate scheduled passenger flights between the two countries, the Transportation Department said. Others had intended to resume service in the coming months.
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