Washington approves weekly flights from China

US transport authorities announced Monday they will allow a total of four weekly round-trip flights by Chinese airlines providing passenger air services between the two nations, which is a modification of the Trump administration’s previous policy of banning Chinese airlines.

The move, deemed a gesture of goodwill from both sides, will ramp up the resumption of flights connecting the world’s two largest economies, industry analysts said.

The US on June 3 issued a ban on Chinese airlines, a move that cast a shadow over the resumption of bilateral air flights and put pressure on US airlines too.

“The US Department of Transportation’s modification of its restrictions was an active response to US airlines’ demands to resume flights to China,” Qi Qi, an independent market analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China on June 4 announced plans to loosen international air flight restrictions by allowing all qualified foreign airlines to resume services to China from June 8.

Unlike the US’ back-and-forth decisions on international flights, China’s plan was based on thorough assessments, highlighting its sincerity in resuming safe aviation connections with the world. China’s plan applied to all foreign airlines. Claims by some Western media outlets declaring it a response to the US ban lacked common sense, Qi noted.

According to media reports, Shanghai will accept flights from USowned airlines, and China will also allow four weekly round-trip flights from US carriers.

Delta said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday that it will resume weekly passenger flight to Shanghai from Seattle next week via Seoul, and weekly flight from Seattle and Detroit in July.

United Airlines has also been nodded by Chinese authorities, allowing it to resume two weekly flights to Shanghai, according to reports. The final schedule has not been fully disclosed.

An insider with China Eastern Airlines revealed to the Global Times on Tuesday that the airline has filed an application with the US transport department for flights between the two nations, noting that the application needs to be submitted 30 days ahead of schedule in accordance with US requirements as well as China’s newly instituted “circuit breaker” rules for international flights as part of the nation’s antivirus efforts.

Air China and China Southern Airlines have submitted flight applications to US transport authorities.