Overview

• The proposal targets passenger and combination services operating under U.S.-issued foreign air carrier permits and excludes all-cargo flights.
• The filing identifies multiple Chinese carriers, including Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Xiamen, as subject to the restriction, while Cathay Pacific was not named.
• Chinese airlines have 48 hours to submit comments, and the DOT outlines implementation 30 days after a final order, which it says could come as soon as November.
• The department grounds the action in Article 2(4) of the 1980 U.S.–China air transport agreement requiring parity on third-country routing rights.
• The move follows Russia’s 2022 airspace ban on U.S. carriers, with U.S.–China passenger flights capped at 50 weekly round trips, and it drew criticism from Beijing and support from a U.S. airline trade group.