Overview
- DOT’s Oct. 9 tentative order would condition permits for seven mainland carriers—Air China, Capital, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan, Sichuan and Xiamen—to avoid Russian airspace on U.S. routes, with a 30‑day compliance window after any final order.
- Six major Chinese airlines formally objected and asked for more time to comment, warning of two to three extra hours on key routes, higher fuel costs and missed connections, with filings estimating thousands of passengers would need rebooking during peak travel.
- United Airlines urged DOT to extend the restriction to Hong Kong-based operators such as Cathay Pacific, arguing that allowing those flights over Russia would leave a competitive loophole on routes to the U.S. East Coast.
- Airlines for America backed the goal of correcting the imbalance and pressed the department to keep U.S.–China passenger capacity aligned with demand to preserve parity between carriers.
- The proposed restriction targets scheduled passenger services and, as drafted, would not apply to cargo-only flights, with the department indicating a final decision could take effect as early as November if adopted.