Chinese passenger airlines will be allowed to boost their weekly round-trip US flights to 50 starting on March 31, up from the current 35, the US Transportation Department said on Monday, returning the market to about one-third of pre-pandemic levels, reports Reuters. The approval “is a significant step forward in further normalization of the US-China market in anticipation of the Summer 2024 traffic season,” the USDOT said.
More than 150 weekly round-trip passenger flights were allowed by each side before restrictions were imposed in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but until August 2023, Chinese and US carriers could each fly only 12 a week between the two countries.
The number rose on Sept. 1 to 18 weekly round-trips and then to 24 per week starting Oct. 29. The USDOT approved 35 for Chinese carriers in November.