Chinese airlines oppose Trump plan to stop flying over Russia on US routes

WASHINGTON – Major Chinese airlines on Oct 14 urged the Trump administration to abandon a plan to bar them from flying over Russia on US flights, saying it would boost flight times, raise airfares and could disrupt some routes.

Last week, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT)

proposed banning Chinese airlines from flying over Russia

on routes to and from the United States, saying the reduced flight time puts American carriers at a disadvantage.

China Eastern, one of six Chinese airlines that sent letters, said in a filing with USDOT that the move could extend the flight time on some of its most important routes by two to three hours, significantly increase risks of missed connections and boost fuel consumption.

Air China and China Southern Airlines said the decision would adversely affect a substantial number of passengers in the US and China.

China Southern projected that at least 2,800 passengers scheduled to travel during the peak holiday season of Nov 1 to Dec 31 would need to be rebooked, “jeopardising their travel plans”.

Separately, United Airlines urged the Trump administration to extend the prohibition to Cathay Pacific, which flies over Russia on flights to the US from Hong Kong and other Hong Kong-based carriers.

United says the Russia restrictions mean it is “effectively barred from resuming non-stop China service on previously served routes such as Newark/New York, Washington, DC, and Chicago”.

Russia has barred US airlines and many other foreign carriers from flying over its airspace in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over the US in

March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Chinese airlines were not banned and have been using this advantage to increase market share compared with non-Chinese carriers on international routes.

A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry on Oct 10 said the restrictions were not conducive to person-to-person exchanges.

Airlines for America, a major trade group representing carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, praised the effort but also called on USDOT to continue to “maintain parity in the number of passenger flights available to US and Chinese airlines, by ensuring that the level of passenger capacity stays reasonably tied to marketplace demand”. REUTERS