U.S blocked the arrival of 44 Chinese airline flights on Friday in retaliation for the government of China forced to cancel flights of US airlines.
The Transportation Department’s order affects four Chinese airlines and marks the latest episode in a long-running dispute over restrictions to contain COVID-19.
China previously banned some Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines flights after several passengers on previous flights tested positive for the coronavirus. The United States maintains that the Chinese measures violated a treaty on the access of airlines from one country to another.
The Department of Transportation indicated that the Chinese government’s decision to prevent the arrival of 44 US airline flights was “adverse to the public interest and warrants proportional corrective action by the department.”
He pointed out that China’s regulations are unfair because the fact that there are passengers who test negative for the virus before their flight but positive up to seven days later can result in the cancellation of future flights.
The US order restricts flights from January 30 to March 29 for Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.
The dispute over flights dates back to 2020 and the early days of the pandemic. That year, the Trump administration backed away from its threat to block four Chinese airlines after China agreed to allow United and Delta to operate a limited number of flights.
The dispute was reignited in August 2021 when the US Department of Transportation restricted the number of passengers on some Chinese flights to the US after China imposed similar restrictions when a Shanghai-bound plane returned to Seattle.
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