Key facts
- Airlines for America opposes Air China's request for additional flights to New York and Washington.
- US airlines are effectively banned from flying from the US east coast to China because they cannot access Russian airspace.
Airlines for America, representing major US carriers, opposes Air China's request for additional flights to New York and Washington. The group argues that Chinese airlines have an unfair advantage due to access to Russian airspace, which US airlines are barred from using.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions in US-China aviation relations, impacting flight availability and costs for travelers, and reflects broader trade and geopolitical friction between the two countries.
Airlines for America, an industry group representing major US carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, has opposed Air China's request to schedule additional flights from Beijing to New York and Washington. The request was made in connection with President Xi Jinping's planned meeting with President Donald Trump.
The opposition stems from the perceived unfair advantage Chinese airlines gain by being able to fly over Russian airspace. US airlines are effectively banned from using this airspace for flights to China from the US east coast, a restriction that has been in place since Russia barred many foreign carriers from its airspace in March 2022, following Washington's ban on Russian flights over the US after the invasion of Ukraine.
US airlines argue that the shorter, less costly, and more fuel-efficient routings available to Chinese carriers via Russian airspace allow them to increase market share. The group filing on Friday stated that Chinese carriers have "shorter, less costly, and more economical routings on flights to and from China and the United States."
Air China requested two additional flights for this week and next week. US airlines contend that approving these flights could pave the way for Chinese carriers to seek more regular flight schedules and that they should be classified as charter flights. The US Transportation Department had previously proposed in October 2025 to ban Chinese airlines from using Russian airspace on US routes, citing the disadvantage it created for American carriers, but the proposal was shelved ahead of trade talks with China. Neither the US Department of Transportation nor a US lawyer for Air China immediately commented on the matter.