The United States aviation sector has petitioned the Biden administration to temporarily halt the authorization of new flights to and from China. It argues that American airlines and workers are already suffering due to Beijing's detrimental anti-competitive practices.

Starting Mar. 31, US authorities approved Chinese airlines to bump up the number of weekly round journeys to and from the US from 35 to 50. Although this is an improvement, it is still much lower than the 150 weekly round journeys permitted on each side before the implementation of limits in early 2020.

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A Letter to Biden Admin

A letter sent Thursday, Apr. 11, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg states that the "competitive disadvantage" hurts about 315,000 staff employed by US passenger airlines serving China.

The Air Line Pilots Association and other unions representing aviation employees and the industry advocacy organization Airlines for America, including American Airlines, Delta, and United, signed the open letter.

"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," the letter states.

According to a CNN report, US airlines accused China of limiting their access to markets during the pandemic and of imposing difficult regulations that affected their operations, customers, and the treatment of their American crew members.

The letter points out that the "anti-competitive disadvantage" with China intensified in 2022 as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. This caused US carriers to cease utilizing Russian airspace while Chinese airlines persisted in exploiting it.

And apparently, avoiding Russian airspace increases aircraft delays and expenses.

"These actions demonstrated the clear need for the US government to establish a policy that protects US aviation workers, industry and air travelers," the letter adds.

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