US spits dummy out in China tit-for-tat airline row

The childish rattle-throwing, tit-for-tat games continue between the United States and China with the US declaring it is banning 26 flights to China in response to the mainland suspending some US flights for importing Covid-19.

The US spat its dummy out in objection to China revising its Covid policies. The mainland stated on August 7 that if 4% of passengers tested positive for Covid on an inbound flight to China, one flight would be suspended. If that number was raised to 8% then two flights would be suspended.

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) raised objections to China insisting the rules place “undue culpability on carriers” when travelers test negative before boarding their flight from the US only to “test positive for Covid after they arrive in China.”

The US will cancel 26 flights to China in total, 19 for Los Angeles and 7 from New York, which will affect flights by Xiamen, Air China 601111.SS, China Southern Airlines 600029.SS, and China Eastern Airlines 600115.SS from September 5 to September 28.

Liu Pengyu, the Chinese Embassy in Washington’s spokesperson, said the decision was “extremely irresponsible” and “groundlessly suspended Chinese airline flights.”

“China‘s Covid-19 circuit breaker measures were fair and transparent, applied both to Chinese and foreign airlines, and were consistent with bilateral air transportation agreements.”

The kindergarten airline games have been ongoing since the start of the pandemic in late 2019 and early 2020.

Earlier this year Washington suspended 44 China-bound flights from the US by the four Chinese carriers in response to China‘s decision to suspend 44 flights by US airlines.

The US allowed only four flights from Chinese carriers with a 40% passenger capacity for four weeks in August last year after China imposed similar limits on four United Airlines flights.

Before the pandemic, more than 100 flights between the US and China operated but post-pandemic that dropped to about 20 flights a week.

SOURCE: Thai PBS