The US government will suspend 26 China-bound flights from the US by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government’s move to suspend some US carrier flights over COVID-19 cases.
The decision will affect flights by Xiamen, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines from Sept. 5 to Sept. 28. The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) cited the recent cancellation of 26 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines flights over COVID-19 cases. The suspensions include 19 China-bound flights from Los Angeles and 7 China Eastern flights from New York.
USDOT said as of Aug. 7 Chinese authorities had revised their policies so if the number of passengers on a flight to China testing positive for COVID-19 reached 4% of the total, one flight would be suspended. If it reached 8%, two flights would be suspended.
The US has repeatedly raised objections with China, saying the rules place “undue culpability on carriers” when travelers test negative before boarding their flight from the US only to “test positive for COVID-19 after their arrival in China.”