American Airlines writes letter to Biden administration, not to approve additional flights between the US and China

The American Airlines wrote a letter to the Biden administration expressing concerns about flights between China and the United States. They said that relations with China worsened in 2022 when Chinese airlines continued to use Russian airspace, while American airlines had stopped using Russian airspace since the Ukraine incident. The airlines mentioned that the current policies of China are dangerous and anti-competitive, causing harm to American airlines and employees. This has made around 315,000 employees of American airlines worried.

American airlines wrote a letter to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday. They mentioned that China imposed strict restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting airline operations, passengers, and American airline crew. Due to China’s policies, about 315,000 employees of airlines are troubled.

According to media reports, in February, the US allowed Chinese airlines to operate direct passenger flights to America as part of gradually resuming affected air services due to the pandemic. American officials approved Chinese airlines to operate 50 weekly round-trip flights to America. The letter further stated that relations with China worsened in 2022 when Chinese airlines continued to use Russian airspace, while American airlines had stopped using Russian airspace since the Ukraine incident.

Last year, American and Chinese presidents met. American President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last met in November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit at the Filoli Estate in San Francisco. This meeting took place at a time when US-China relations were at their lowest. There was a global economic downturn, conflicts in Western Asia and Europe, and tension over Taiwan.