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The largest US airlines are asking the Biden Administration to halt approvals of new flights between the country and China, saying the Asian nation’s “damaging anti-competitive policies” put US carriers at a disadvantage.
“If the growth of the Chinese aviation market is allowed to continue unchecked and without concern for equality of access in the market, flights will continue to be relinquished to Chinese carriers at the expense of US workers and businesses,” according to a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Department Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The plea was signed by the Airlines for America trade group and unions representing several worker groups — the Air Line Pilots Association, Allied Pilots Association and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. The letter was reported earlier by Reuters.
The US and China have been slowly rebuilding the number of flights between the countries after a pullback during the pandemic, but they’re still well below the average 340 per week prior to the pandemic. US officials earlier gave Chinese airlines approval to make 50 round-trip flights starting March 31, up from 35, after a pledge by the Civil Administration of China to push for a “significant increase” in direct flights.
US airlines and unions in Thursday’s letter called out strict limits on access to the China market implemented during the pandemic that affected operations, customers and crews. “These actions demonstrated the clear need for the US government to establish a policy that protects US aviation workers, industry and air travelers,” they said.
The anti-competitive relationship is worsened by the continued use of Russian airspace for flights by Chinese carriers, the letter said, while US airlines have been blocked from using them since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Not being able to fly over Russia adds costs and time to the US flights.
Leaders of the US House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party also urged officials in a separate letter to use caution in approving new flights between the countries and to tie them to increases in travel demand. Any expansion must ensure that Chinese carriers are prohibited from using Russian airspace, the letter said.
“If the growth of the Chinese aviation market is allowed to continue unchecked and without concern for equality of access in the market, flights will continue to be relinquished to Chinese carriers at the expense of US workers and businesses,” according to a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Department Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The plea was signed by the Airlines for America trade group and unions representing several worker groups — the Air Line Pilots Association, Allied Pilots Association and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. The letter was reported earlier by Reuters.
The US and China have been slowly rebuilding the number of flights between the countries after a pullback during the pandemic, but they’re still well below the average 340 per week prior to the pandemic. US officials earlier gave Chinese airlines approval to make 50 round-trip flights starting March 31, up from 35, after a pledge by the Civil Administration of China to push for a “significant increase” in direct flights.
US airlines and unions in Thursday’s letter called out strict limits on access to the China market implemented during the pandemic that affected operations, customers and crews. “These actions demonstrated the clear need for the US government to establish a policy that protects US aviation workers, industry and air travelers,” they said.
The anti-competitive relationship is worsened by the continued use of Russian airspace for flights by Chinese carriers, the letter said, while US airlines have been blocked from using them since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Not being able to fly over Russia adds costs and time to the US flights.
Leaders of the US House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party also urged officials in a separate letter to use caution in approving new flights between the countries and to tie them to increases in travel demand. Any expansion must ensure that Chinese carriers are prohibited from using Russian airspace, the letter said.
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