Asia Tech Wire (Apr 12) -- Major U.S. airlines and airline unions sent a letter on Thursday urging the Biden administration to suspend approval of additional flights between China and the U.S., according to Reuters.

Airlines for America (A4A), a trade group representing carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, as well as unions, said in the letter that Chinese carriers' continued access to Russian airspace puts them at an advantage.

And since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in early 2022, U.S. airlines have stopped flying over Russian airspace.

As a result, in the letter they called on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to "pause additional passenger flights between the United States and the People's Republic of China until U.S. workers and businesses are guaranteed equality of access in the marketplace, free from the existing harmful anti-competitive policies of the Chinese government."

In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Chinese airlines could increase the number of flights between the U.S. and China from 35 to 50 per week starting March 31.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has also allowed U.S. carriers to operate 50 flights per week between the U.S. and China, but they are not fully utilizing those quotas at this time.

U.S. airlines worry that the Biden administration may double the number of weekly flights operated by Chinese airlines to 100.