美中航班逐漸恢復？為時尚早！

【縛雞之見】

這是施壓互惠。目前美中之間只有4家中國的航空公司在運作，美國則完全被禁止。

北京在半天之內立即對美宣布，預計6/16開放中國部分城市飛美的一週一班航班。

問題還在：美國仍禁止中國採取包機方式載運中國人回國。

 

人員貨物交流 恐加速脫鉤 美16日起擬禁陸航班    中時 20200604

在傳出陸美第一階段貿易協議有可能生變後，華盛頓再度向北京施壓。美國CNBC報導，川普當局向北京要求，除非大陸為美國航空公司開綠燈允許美航飛陸，否則從6月16日開始就將禁止大陸航班赴美。一般認為，如果實施將重創雙方的航空業，陸美人員貨物交流也將加速脫鉤。

 

美國運輸部昨天發布聲明宣布，由於大陸始終不允許美方航空公司飛陸，將從6月16日起禁止大陸各家航空公司的航班前往美國。美國媒體認為，這項新舉措是美方向北京施壓，要求陸方允許美國航空公司恢復在當地的航班，為美國受到重創的航空業恢復生機。北京遲遲不願批准美方航空公司赴陸，是憂慮目前仍舊被新冠疫情困擾的美國，藉由人員的大規模往來，病毒由境外輸入。

 

美國CNBC報導指出，根據運輸部發出的規定，禁令將在美國時間6月16日起生效，不過最後時間也有可能視大陸回應而調整。在新冠疫情後，全美航空業大幅度萎縮，據了解，除了達美航空和聯合航空，美國航空公司也希望盡快恢復前往大陸的航班。

 

一般認為，雙方將就一連串複雜的檢疫認證展開協商，但目前雙方的關係因香港、貿易協議等問題而緊繃，在距離美方最後通牒之前達成協議的前景不容樂觀。

 

 

DOT Statement on order suspending the scheduled passenger flights of Chinese carriers to and from the United States    MOT 20200603

Today the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an order suspending the scheduled passenger flights of Chinese carriers to and from the United States, effective by June 16, 2020.

 

This action responds to the failure of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to permit U.S. carriers to exercise their bilateral rights to conduct passenger air service to China.  Currently, four Chinese carriers and no U.S. carriers operate scheduled passenger flights between the United States and China.  U.S. carriers have asked to resume passenger service, beginning June 1st.  The Chinese government’s failure to approve their requests is a violation of our Air Transport Agreement.

 

The Department will continue to engage our Chinese counterparts so both U.S. and Chinese carriers can fully exercise their bilateral rights.  In the meantime, we will allow Chinese carriers to operate the same number of scheduled passenger flights as the Chinese government allows ours.

 

The action may go into effect before June 16th, if the President so orders.

A copy of the order may be viewed here.

 

 

China’s aviation authority to allow more foreign flights after the U.S. bans Chinese carriers    CNBC 20200604

• China’s aviation authority said Thursday it would allow all foreign airlines to choose from a list of approved cities to operate one international passenger flight a week beginning June 8.
• The online statement came about 12 hours after the U.S. Trump administration issued an order to suspend Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the U.S. beginning June 16, with the option to take effect earlier.
• The Civil Aviation Administration of China did not directly refer to the U.S. actions in its statement.

 

China’s aviation authority said Thursday that it would allow foreign airlines to increase flights between the country and other regions from June 8.

 

The online statement came about 12 hours after President Donald Trump’s administration issued an order to suspend Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the U.S. beginning June 16, with the option to take effect earlier.

 

The Civil Aviation Administration of China did not directly refer to the U.S. actions in its statement. The new Chinese policy would allow all foreign airlines to choose from a list of approved cities to operate one international passenger flight a week.

 

If a flight’s passengers test negative for the virus for three consecutive weeks, the airline will be able to add one additional fight per week, the aviation authority said.  If five or more passengers test positive for the virus, the airline must suspend the flight for a week, according to the statement.

 

China’s aviation authority did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment about the U.S. order.

 

Shares of Air China and Hainan Airlines fell nearly 2% in morning trading on the mainland, while China Southern shares traded 0.4% lower. However, China Eastern shares rose about half a percent.

 

All four airlines were mentioned in the U.S. Department of Transportation order that called for the suspension of their flights to the U.S. Other entities mentioned included Xiamen Airlines and Sichuan Airlines.

 

Global aviation traffic has plunged in the last several months as governments imposed lockdowns and stay-home orders to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.  Officially called Covid-19, the disease first emerged late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has since infected more than 6.4 million people worldwide and killed over 385,000.

 

By March 12, U.S. airlines had stopped passenger services to and from China, while Chinese carriers maintained some flights, the U.S. order said.  The document added that at the beginning of May, U.S. carriers United Airlines and Delta had applied to China’s aviation authority to resume flights to the country in early June, but did not receive approval.

 

The order made it clear that the U.S. would not approve Chinese charter flights that have become an increasingly common way for Chinese nationals to return to their home country.

— CNBC’s Iris Wang contributed to this report.