COMMENT PROBES LOGIC FOR LIMITING CHINESE CARRIER FREQUENCY
March 31, 2025
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On January 31, 2025, an anonymous submission was published on the DOT docket dedicated to Chinese carrier frequencies. The comment noted that no action has been taken by the Department in two years to increase frequencies for Chinese carriers and suggested that an April 2024 letter from A4A influenced the Department’s lack of action. The anonymous commenter concedes that the Department may have non-Covid related reasoning for requiring Chinese carriers to file schedules and limit flights, yet the commenter seeks further clarification on the lack of action. A4A was joined by unions representing pilots and flight attendants last year when it wrote former Transportation Secretary Buttigieg requesting limits on the number of Chinese flights operating to the U.S. According to A4A and the labor groups, Chinese carriers have an unfair competitive advantage by continuing to operate in Russian airspace. United and other U.S. carriers contended that all flights serving the U.S., including those operated by Chinese carriers, should be banned from flying over Russian airspace. The comment, while limited in scope, underscores an urgency to revisit prior policy with fresh eyes in the early day of the second Trump administration.
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