US Airlines Urge Officials to Block Additional China Flights
- Letter cites ‘anti-competitive policies’ in the Asian nation
- Unions for pilots, flight attendants also sign onto request
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.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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.