Washington [US], October 10: The US wants Chinese airlines to stop flying over Russia on flights to and from the US, in the context of US airlines being banned from flying over Russia.
Reuters reported on October 10 that the administration of US President Donald Trump proposed banning Chinese airlines from flying over Russian airspace on flights to and from the US, citing the disadvantage of US airlines.
US airlines have long criticized allowing Chinese carriers to use Russian airspace on some flights, saying it allows them to shorten flight times, burn less fuel and reduce costs.
The US Department of Transportation said in its proposal that "this imbalance has become a significant competitive factor."
Accordingly, the proposal "aims to balance the competitive gap between US and Chinese airlines". The Ministry believes that the current situation is "unfair and has caused significant adverse competitive impacts on US airlines".
The US Transportation Department said Chinese airlines have two days to respond to the proposal and said implementation could take place as early as November.
In May 2023, the US approved Chinese airlines to increase flights after they agreed not to fly over Russian airspace on new routes.
The Chinese Embassy in the United States and Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines that fly to China, did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia has banned US and many other foreign airlines from flying over its airspace in response to the ban on Russian flights to the US in March 2022, after the country launched a military campaign in Ukraine.
The decision could affect some US flights operated by Air China, China Eastern, Xiamen Airlines and China Southern.
In another development, Boeing Co is in talks to sell up to 500 planes to China, a major breakthrough for the company in the world's second-largest aviation market, where orders have stalled due to US-China trade tensions.
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet face-to-face on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea in late October.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper