Major U.S. airlines and aviation unions are calling on the Biden administration to pause approvals of additional flights between China and the United States, citing ongoing “anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government” and the competitive advantage Chinese airlines receive by continuing to access Russian airspace.
In a letter to the Transportation and State departments, Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, along with unions such as the Air Line Pilots Association, Allied Pilots Association, and Association of Flight Attendants, urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to halt additional passenger flights until U.S. workers and businesses are guaranteed equality of access in the marketplace.
U.S. carriers have been hit with an estimated $2 billion in annual lost revenues from flights because they cannot fly in Russian airspace, while foreign airliners have been using their advantage to fly more direct routes with lower fuel costs. The number of weekly round-trip passenger flights allowed by each side has been gradually increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic, but U.S. airlines argue that the rapid pace of increasing flights is causing concern.
