© Reuters. An Eastern China Boeing 777-300ER takes off from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, US on November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Wednesday issued an order approving Chinese airlines to increase passenger services in the United States to 12 round-trip flights per week — a number equal to the total number of flights that Chinese aviation authorities will allow. American airlines.
The three US carriers currently operating scheduled passenger service in the US and China market — American Airlines (NASDAQ: ), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: ), and United Airlines — will be approved to operate four weekly round-trip flights between the US and China. USDOT said.
The order brings the number of passenger flights in each country to 12 round-trips effective immediately, but is still a small fraction of total flights before the restrictions were imposed in early 2020 after the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.