The Trump administration moved Wednesday to block Chinese airlines from flying to the US in an escalation of trade and diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The Transportation Department said it would suspend passenger flights of four Chinese airlines to and from the United States starting June 16. The decision was in response to China’s failure to let United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resume flights to China this month. The four airlines affected by the order are Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines. While US carriers stopped their flights, Chinese airlines continued to fly scaled-down schedules between the two countries — 20 flights a week in mid-February and 34 a week by mid-March.

Source: Manila Times June 04, 2020 04:53 UTC