US ban on Chinese carriers overflying Russia will have limited impact

© Jozsef Soos |

The US proposal to ban a selection of Chinese airlines from overflying Russia en route to the US could have longer-term consequences, but the short-term impact is limited, according to AviationWeek.

The DoT “tentative” order notes: “Specifically, the department proposes to prohibit the … Chinese air carriers from utilizing Russian airspace in their passenger or combination services between China and the United States. The department proposes that the condition will become effective 30 days after the issuance of a final order in this matter.

“We will afford interested parties two business days from the date of this order to file comments to our tentative decision. Replies will be due two business days thereafter.”

However, FlightRadar24 data shows that just four of the affected 18 nonstop current China-US routes – China Eastern’s New York JFK-Shanghai Pudong, China Southern’s Guangzhou-New York JFK, and Air China’s Beijing Capital-Los Angeles and Los Angeles-Shenzhen services – have entered Russian airspace over the past week.