The Trump administration is considering imposing restrictions on Chinese airlines that fly over Russian airspace on their route to and from the United States, according to a Reuters account published Oct. 10. An article in Global Times provides some of the background.
U.S. airlines flying to China from the East Coast are prohibited from entering Russian airspace, because of U.S. prohibitions against Russian flights operating in American airspace. That means that they have to take a longer route than what a great circle route would prescribe, which requires taking on fewer passengers and less cargo. That puts them at a disadvantage to Chinese airlines that face no such Russian prohibitions. Therefore, Washington argues, Chinese airlines should also be obligated to pay the price for America’s airspace war with Russia.
