WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday announced that it is suspending 44 Chinese passenger flights from the US to the Asian giant in response to Beijing's restrictive moves on US carriers as part of its COVID-19 protocols.
China maintains strict controls on border entry, including cut flights and a "circuit breaker" policy where routes are blocked if flights bring in too many infections.
China's aviation authority used a circuit breaker policy to cancel flights by American, Delta and United Airlines after passengers who tested negative for COVID before takeoff later tested positive after arriving in China.
The US Department of Transportation wrote in its order Friday that "the actions described above impair the operations of Delta, American and United are prejudicial to the public interest and warrant proportionate remedial action by the department."
"US carriers, which are following all relevant Chinese regulations regarding pre-departure and in-flight protocols, will not be penalized if passengers, upon arrival, subsequently test positive for COVID-19." Must go," it said.
The 44 flights are operated by Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines and are scheduled for departure between January 30 and March 29.
The move comes less than three weeks before Beijing is set to host the Winter Olympics.
The Chinese capital has already suspended thousands of flights and increased testing after the first community case of the Omicron variant was reported last weekend.
Chinese authorities have adopted a strict "zero-COVID" approach, with tight border restrictions and targeted lockdowns - a strategy that has come under pressure as several clusters erupted across the country ahead of next month's Games.