The Trump administration has said it will ban Chinese passenger airlines flying to and from the US this month unless Beijing relaxes restrictions on American airlines.
The US transport department said on Wednesday it would block any scheduled passenger flight by a Chinese carrier from June 16, in an escalation of the two countries’ tussle over which flights should be allowed during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Currently, four Chinese carriers and no US carriers operate scheduled passenger flights between the United States and China,” the department said in a statement. “US carriers have asked to resume passenger service, beginning June 1. The Chinese government’s failure to approve their requests is a violation of our Air Transport Agreement.”