US airlines oppose China’s bid to add more flights

On September 24, the head of a major U.S. airlines industry group, Chris Sununu, stated that American carriers oppose China's proposal to increase direct flights between the two countries. Sununu argued that the current imbalance, caused by Chinese airlines' ability to fly over Russia, is unfair and imposes significant costs on U.S. airlines due to the need to detour around Russia.

Currently, both nations allow around 50 round-trip flights per week between their countries, but this was reduced to 12 flights per week per airline in August 2023. Sununu further criticized the imbalance, saying the U.S. has been limited from flying directly to China due to the inability to access Russian airspace, while China's carriers can fly eight overflights for free.

Sununu urged the Trump administration not to compromise this advantage, warning that giving China more flights would disadvantage U.S. airlines significantly. The US imposed a ban on Russian flights from American airspace following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, which led Russia to ban US carriers from overflying the country.

Despite this, the US has prohibited Chinese airlines from overflying Russia on routes connecting the US and China, arguing that this reduces flight times and puts American carriers at a disadvantage. However, this proposal was rejected by other US agencies and shelved before trade talks with China.