The United States has suspended Chinese passenger planes from flying to America.
The order will take effect from June 16, 2020, Reuters reports.
Explaining the rationale, the Department of Transportation said it was a response to the “failure” of China to “permit U.S. carriers to exercise the full extent of their bilateral right to conduct scheduled passenger air services to and from China”.
America complained that China had not allowed its carriers to resume flights to the country after pausing the routes due to coronavirus.
The formal order was signed by the Transportation Department’s top aviation official, Joel Szabat.
It noted that China remains unable to say when it will revise its rules “to allow U.S. carriers to reinstate scheduled passenger flights”.
The order applies to Air China (601111.SS), China Eastern Airlines Corp, China Southern Airlines Co (600029.SS) and Hainan Airlines Holding Co (600221.SS), as well as smaller Sichuan Airlines Co and Xiamen Airlines Co.
Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and United Airlines (UAL.O) have asked to resume flights to China this month, even as Chinese carriers have continued U.S. flights during the pandemic.
The decision buttresses rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
