The Department of Transportation suspended more than 40 flights bound for China.
The 44 flights, all of which were operated by Chinese airlines, would have carried passengers from either Los Angeles International Airport or New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to five airports. The cancellations occurred after China restricted several U.S. flights based on the number of COVID-19 cases that arose after flights landed.
“We find that [the Civil Aviation Authority of China’s] recent actions impairing the operations of Delta, American, and United as described above are adverse to the public interest and warrant proportionate remedial action by the Department,” the Department of Transportation said in an order released on Friday.
CAAC policy requires any flights in which five and nine passengers tested positive for COVID-19 after landing in China to either suspend the flight route for two weeks or impose a 40% passenger limit for four weeks.
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The Transportation Department claimed that Chinese authorities have taken additional actions against the airlines in question, such as not allowing the flights to operate with reduced capacity. This policy has forced Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines to cancel 44 China-bound flights as of Jan. 19, DOT said.
The order argued that China’s policy places “undue culpability on carriers with respect to travelers who, despite having presented negative test results prior to boarding, test positive for COVID-19 up to seven days after their arrival in China.”
For example, the order mentions a Jan. 18 incident in which five passengers who had flown from San Francisco to Shanghai on United had tested positive for COVID-19 days after landing in China. CAAC told United that two later flights on that route were suspended.
The canceled flights from the Transportation Department include Air China flights from Los Angeles to Shenzhen, Air China flights from Los Angeles to Tianjin, China Eastern Airlines flights from New York to Shanghai, China Southern Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, and Xiamen Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Xiamen. All of the canceled flights were scheduled to occur between Jan. 30 and Mar. 29.
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China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters at a Monday press conference that the U.S. suspension of China-bound flights was unnecessary.
“This act disrupts the normal operation of Chinese airlines and ignores the health and safety of Chinese and foreign travelers. It is arbitrary, unreasonable, and extremely irresponsible,” Zhao said.
