US considering ban on Chinese airlines using Russian airspace

WASHINGTON: The US Transportation Department is proposing a ban on Chinese airlines' use of Russian airspace to fly passengers to the US, three officials from the administration of President Joe Biden told New York Times, reported Russia Today.

The national security team and others were reportedly given an order last Monday requiring Chinese rivals to adhere to the same restrictions faced by US carriers. The idea is the result of lobbying by US airlines, who lose up to $2 billion in market share yearly to foreign rivals who are not restricted from overflying Russian territory, according to industry trade group Airlines for America.

The group has requested that the Biden administration "take action to ensure that international carriers overflying Russia do not depart, land, or transit through US airports," according to a spokeswoman for the organization.

Airlines with home nations that are not involved in the conflict in Ukraine, such as China Eastern, Emirates, and Air India, have seen a spike in revenue because they can fly the shortest route without having to go around Russia’s extensive territory. American carriers, on the other hand, have had to conduct long-haul flights with dozens of vacant seats in the aim of making the jet light enough to avoid refuelling on the more circuitous routes required to circumvent no-go zones, according to airline sources quoted by Russia Today.

US carriers were forced to abandon plans to provide direct services to more than a dozen hotspots like Tokyo, Seoul, and Mumbai in favour of competitors after being denied access to the most direct routes to Asia.

According to Russia Today, Airlines for America has made an effort to persuade passengers who object to forking over the extra cash and time in the air that flying over Russia is genuinely risky. The lobbying group cites the downing of MH17 in Ukraine in 2014 and Brittney Griner's arrest in a Moscow airport last year as examples. (ANI)