China is easing its coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions and will allow charter flights from eight countries, but this does not include the United States.
The list of countries from which it will be allowed to fly charters into China includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Switzerland, Bloomberg reported on May 28, citing confidential sources. The list notably excludes the United States, which in May accused the Chinese government of barring US airlines from resuming operations there.
While Chinese airlines have continued flights to the USA, US carriers had stopped theirs by March 12. During the last two months, China has allowed international airlines to fly in only once a week under its Five-One policy, which also limits the external flights of domestic carriers, Bloomberg added.
On May 25, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it was establishing ‘green channels’ for international chartered passenger flights to China, which requires carriers to obtain permits for non-scheduled flights, which will then be reviewed and approved or denied.
Bloomberg’s report comes as the US Department of Transportation (DOT) accuses the Chinese government of barring US airlines from resuming operations there. An order served by the DOT on May 22 accused Beijing of a “failure [...] to permit US carriers to exercise the full extent of their bilateral right to conduct scheduled passenger air services to China.”
The DOT said China had violated a bilateral agreement by failing to respond to requests for passenger flights by Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) and United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare), and ordered Chinese airlines to provide information on their US schedules and any proposed changes.
In a travel advisory issued by the United States Embassy in Beijing on Friday and seen by Reuters, the United States said China plans to extend its curbs on international flights until June 30.
