US Proposes Chinese Airlines Stop Flying Over Russia on US Routes

The Trump administration is proposing to reroute Chinese airlines from flying over Russia on flights to and from the United States. The shorter route over Russia gives Chinese Airlines an advantage over U.S. airlines, since the route can save time and fuel.

The United States banned all Russian aircraft from flying over U.S. airspace after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia subsequently banned U.S. airlines from using Russian airspace. This means that U.S. flights to Asia do not fly over eastern Russia, which can cut one to two hours of flight time.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed the change to Chinese airlines as the trade war with China escalates; last week, China increased controls on rare earth exports.

The DOT stated in its Oct. 9 proposal that the current situation is “unfair and has resulted in substantial adverse competitive effects on U.S. air carriers.” The proposed restriction applies only to commercial jets, not cargo flights.

Chinese carriers have two days to respond to the department’s proposal. The DOT stated that a final order could be in effect as soon as November. Chinese carriers have taken advantage of the benefits of flying over Russian airspace to increase their market share from non-Chinese competitors.

Flights between the United States and China have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, when both countries operated 150 round-trip flights weekly. The number of weekly round-trips is fewer than 50 at present. Over the past few years, the two countries have gradually approved more routes between them.

U.S.–China routes operated by Air China, China Eastern, Xiamen Airlines, and China Southern could be affected by the DOT’s decision.

In a 2023 letter to the Biden administration, the then-chair and then-ranking Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee requested that the administration ban Chinese and other non-U.S. airlines from flying over Russia.

Reuters found that routes to and from China that were subsequently approved by the Federal Aviation Administration were not flying over Russia.

In addition to the competitive advantage of flying in Russian airspace, the senators also raised concerns about state-sponsored hijacking. They specifically mentioned an incident from May 2021 when Belarus used the pretense of a bomb threat to ground a Ryanair flight over its territory to Vilnius, Lithuania, from Athens, Greece. Belarus used the incident to detain a dissident on board the plane.

Reuters contributed to this report.