By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Major U.S. airlines and aviation unions on Thursday urged the Biden administration to suspend approvals for additional flights between China and the United States, citing the Chinese government's ongoing “anti-competitive policies.”
In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Chinese passenger airlines could increase weekly round-trip flights to the United States to 50 starting March 31, up from 35 currently, about a third of levels. prior to the pandemic. U.S. airlines were also allowed to operate 50 flights per week, but are not currently using all of those flights.
Airlines for America, a trade group whose members include American Airlines (NASDAQ:), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:) and United Airlines, and unions in a letter to the Transportation and State departments cited the “advantage that airlines receive “Chinese airlines continued to access Russian airspace, while US aircraft carriers stopped flying through Russian airspace at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.”
The letter, first reported by Reuters, was signed by the Airline Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants. Called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to “pause additional passenger flights between the United States and the People's Republic of China until American workers and businesses are guaranteed equal market access.” , free from the Chinese government's harmful anti-competitive policy laws.”
Flights between China and the United States, which were a point of contention during the COVID-19 pandemic, have emerged as a rare area of cooperation between the two superpowers, but American airlines have expressed concern about the rapid pace of the increase. of flights.
Airlines are concerned that the Biden administration could increase or even double to 100 the number of weekly flights allowed by Chinese airlines.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House select committee on China, and the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, urged the Biden administration in a separate letter on Wednesday not to approve any more flights. until China complies “with its existing bilateral agreement.” , and passenger demand is beginning to recover.”
The lawmakers said Chinese carriers “operate flights
routes with an anti-competitive trade advantage that should not be allowed to increase without reciprocal parity in the number of routes operated by US carriers” to China. He added that “US passengers should not be exposed to unnecessary security risks when passing through Russian airspace.” .
Each side allowed more than 150 weekly round-trip passenger flights before restrictions were imposed in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but until August 2023, Chinese and US airlines could each fly only 12. per week between the two countries.
The number increased on September 1 to 18 weekly round trips and then to 24 per week from October 29. USDOT approved 35 for Chinese carriers in November.
Reuters reported last June that newly approved Chinese flights to the United States did not fly over Russia, which would have given them a shorter flight time and fuel advantage over American rivals blocked in Russian airspace.
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