From September, seven major Chinese carriers may up the number of their weekly roundtrips to the United States with a further increase allowed from end-October 2023, according to a regulatory filing by the US Department of Transportation (DOT).

Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Capital Airlines (China), Sichuan Airlines, and Hainan Airlines will be allowed to operate, in the aggregate, up to 18 weekly roundtrip scheduled passenger flights to/from the US from September 1, increasing to 24 from October 29.

This marks a further relaxation of bilateral air service relations between the US and China after the US suspended all scheduled commercial Chinese passenger flights on June 16, 2020, in response to that country's unilateral ban on March 26, 2020, on all US airlines because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since December 30, 2022, both parties adjusted the bans through incremental flight increases. From January 8, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) permitted all US airlines to resume from March 26, 2023, the same number of flights they had operated during the 2019 IATA Northern winter season. US carriers may apply to add additional flights during the Northern Summer 2023 traffic season, which began on March 26, 2023. Certain restrictions, such as the allocation of new slots, remain in place. American Airlines began operating two additional weekly Dallas/Fort Worth-Shanghai Pudong flights in March 2023, bringing the aggregate weekly total of permitted US combination services to 12.

On May 3, 2023, the US DOT responded by allowing Chinese carriers a corresponding aggregate of 12 roundtrips.

As things stand, the current 12 weekly roundtrips to the US are taken up by Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern, and Xiamen Airlines. However, the US DOT has invited all seven Chinese carriers to submit proposed schedules for consideration.

"Our overriding goal is an improved environment wherein the carriers of both parties are able to exercise fully their bilateral rights to maintain a competitive balance and fair and equal opportunity among US and Chinese air carriers. We reiterate our finding that the long-term negative impact of the CAAC limitations over three years continues to call for an incremental return to services in the US-China combination services market. In that regard, we hope to continue to maintain an ongoing and productive dialogue with CAAC with the goal of continuing a gradual, broader reopening of the US-China air services market," the DOT said.