U.S. airlines oppose proposal to increase China direct flights

During his visit to the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed increasing the number of direct flights between China and the U.S. to facilitate personnel and trade exchanges. However, the Airlines for America trade group has expressed opposition to this proposal.

Chris Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, cited unfair competition resulting from unequal access to Russian airspace. While Chinese airlines currently have eight flights permitted to fly over Russia, U.S. carriers are forced to take longer, more expensive routes to avoid Russian airspace following sanctions imposed after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Sununu stated that this is not a minor issue, as the detour significantly increases operational costs for American airlines.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, both countries operated over 150 weekly round-trip passenger flights. Following pandemic-related restrictions, capacity dropped to 12 weekly flights in August 2023, and currently stands at approximately 50 weekly flights for each side.