The U.S. aviation industry opposes increasing direct flights between China and the United States, saying Russian airspace is being used unfairly

Reuters reported that the head of an industry organization composed of major U.S. airlines said that although Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed increasing direct flights between the two countries during his visit to the United States, the U.S. industry is still opposed to this.

A Reuters report from Washington on the 24th stated that Chris Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and other companies, made the above statement that day on the grounds that US and Chinese airlines are treated unequally when using Russian airspace.

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Sununu said that eight Chinese airline flights were allowed to fly through Russian airspace, and U.S. airlines continued to be at a disadvantage as a result.

He also said he has been lobbying Trump administration officials not to make concessions to China on this issue.

Sununu said in an interview, "This is not a small problem. Airlines have to fly around Russia, which incurs huge costs."

China and the United States can each operate about 50 round-trip flights per week. Xi Jinping, who is on a state visit to the United States, said in his speech at the White House welcome ceremony on the 24th that China and the United States can increase direct flights to make personnel and economic and trade exchanges between the two sides more convenient. The White House has not yet commented.

The report pointed out that before flight restrictions were implemented due to the COVID-19 epidemic in early 2020, Chinese and American airlines were allowed to operate more than 150 round-trip passenger flights per week; by August 2023, Chinese and American airlines were limited to 12 flights per week to and from the two countries.

The American Airlines Association recently opposed Air China's application to add flights from Beijing to New York and Washington before and after the meeting between the US and China heads of state. The reason is that US airlines cannot actually fly to China from the east coast of the United States because they cannot use Russian airspace; while Chinese airlines have eight flights to the United States that are allowed to fly over Russia.

After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the United States banned Russian flights from entering U.S. airspace in March 2022, and Russia subsequently banned American airlines from flying through Russian airspace. The United States has not banned airlines from other countries from flying over Russia, but it reached an agreement with China in 2023 that stipulates that approved additional flights shall not fly over Russia.