Airlines for America is urging the Trump administration not to approve more direct flights between China and the United States, arguing that Chinese carriers retain a cost advantage because they can fly over Russia on some routes. The group’s chief executive, Chris Sununu, said the extra distance around Russian airspace imposes a significant burden on US airlines.
Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the possibility of increasing direct flights at an event in Washington on September 24. Each country currently has permission for about 50 round-trip passenger flights a week, well below the more than 150 allowed for each side before pandemic-era restrictions. By August 2023, the cap had been 12 weekly flights per country.
US carriers cannot overfly Russia after Moscow barred them in response to Washington’s 2022 restrictions on Russian aircraft. Chinese airlines are permitted to use Russian airspace on eight US-bound flights, according to Sununu. Airlines for America says expanding service without addressing that difference would deepen the competitive imbalance.
The US Transportation Department proposed in 2025 barring Chinese carriers from overflying Russia on routes to and from the United States, but the proposal was shelved before trade talks with Beijing. The White House had not immediately commented on Xi’s suggestion to increase flights.