DOT Suspends Chinese Airline Flights from U.S. in Tit-for-Tat Retaliation | Business Travel News

The U.S. Department of Transportation is to suspend 26
flights from the United States to China operated by Chinese airlines in
response to the Chinese government requiring U.S. carriers to suspend their
flights to China, the agency confirmed Friday. The reason: a dispute over
anti-virus controls.

The suspensions, from Sept. 5 to 28, will affect seven
flights from New York and 19 flights from Los Angeles by four airlines—Air
China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, according
to a Reuters report. 

The 26 total equals the number of flights for American
Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines that China recently canceled as
“circuit-breaker” penalties resulting from passengers testing positive for Covid-19
“up to seven days after their arrival in China,” according to DOT.

As of Aug. 7, the Civil Aviation Administration of China
revised its “circuit-breaker” measures for scheduled international passenger
flights “in a bid to effectively coordinate Covid-19 prevention and control.” For
any airline carrying at least five passengers who test positive for Covid 19,
if that number reaches 4 percent or more, the airline’s operation on that
specific route will be suspended for one operation. If the number of confirmed
passengers testing positive reaches 8 percent or more, the airline’s operation
on that route shall be suspended for two operations, according to the Chinese agency.

“Since March 2020, China has unilaterally imposed frequency
and capacity restrictions that are inconsistent with the terms of the
U.S.-China Air Transport Agreement,” per DOT via an email. The U.S. government
has “repeatedly raised its objections to the circuit-breaker policy with
Chinese government officials.” 

DOT also said that the rules place “undue culpability on
carriers” when travelers test negative prior to boarding, then test positive
for Covid-19 upon their arrival in China, according to the Reuters report.