WASHINGTON : The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) on Wednesday issued an order approving Chinese airlines to increase their U.S. passenger services to 12 weekly round-trip flights - a figure equivalent to the total number of flights Chinese aviation authorities will allow for U.S. carriers.
The three U.S. carriers currently operating scheduled passengers service in the U.S.-China market - American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines - will be approved to operate four weekly round-trip flights between the United States and the China, USDOT said.
The order brings each country's passenger flights to 12 total round trips effective immediately, but it is still a fraction of the total flights before the imposition of restrictions in early 2020 after the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.