The US Department of Transport (DOT) has backed down from an earlier ban on Chinese carriers, allowing them to fly up to four weekly flights between Mainland China and the USA. The move comes after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) eased international flight restrictions further on 8 June, allowing more carriers — including those from the USA — to operate flights into the country. A DOT notice on 15 June says it was notified that US carriers have been approved to fly four weekly flights to Mainland China, and will reciprocate by allowing Chinese airlines to fly four weekly flights between the two countries. “We welcome this action by the Chinese government, as an important first step to fully restore air travel,” it states. The DOT adds that it will “continue to press for the full restoration of passenger air travel between the United States and China, in part to allow for the repatriation of Chinese students who have been unable to fly home due to the shortage of flights”. The department first announced the ban — to have kicked in on 16 June — in retaliation for a Chinese order that US officials say effectively prohibits US airlines from resuming China flights. In May, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines applied to the CAAC for authority to resume numerous passenger flights between the countries, after suspending their routes due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, the CAAC denied their requests. China restricted the number of international flights into the country in March, in a bid to stem the number of imported coronavirus cases. Its order in March also prohibited carriers from adding more capacity than they had in schedules on 12 March – a date on which US airlines had no China flights.

Source: Cirium

Chinese carriers have begun suspending flights to and from Beijing, following a rise in a number of new coronavirus cases in the Chinese capital. Among carriers suspending flights in and out of the city is Beijing-based Air China, which in a 17 June notice indicated “large-scale” cancellations. As of 10:00 on 17 June, the Star Alliance carrier cancelled 295 flights in and out of its Beijing Capital airport hub. All affected flights are to points in its domestic network, including cities such as Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai and Chongqing. Compatriot China Southern Airlines, which also has a sizeable presence in Beijing, has yet to announce any cancellations. However, a check on flight schedules at Beijing Daxing airport, where the carrier is in the process of shifting operations to, shows that the airline is cutting at least four flights on 17 June in its domestic network, to cities like Kunming and Chengdu. At Beijing Capital, China Southern has cancelled a larger number of domestic flights, including to Shanghai Hongqiao, Changsha, as well as its Guangzhou hub. Flight schedules on Beijing Capital’s website also indicate a significant number of flight cancellations by other Chinese carriers, such as China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, as well as Sichuan Airlines. Some foreign carriers, which have been allowed by the Chinese authorities to operate limited flights into the country, have also suspended their Beijing flights. Japanese carriers Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways cancelled all their flights from Tokyo to China on 17 June. Chinese state media People’s Daily indicates that as of 17 June morning, more than 1,200 flights have been cancelled at Beijing’s two airports, with the number expected to grow as the capital is restricting outbound travel. Beijing reported 31 new coronavirus cases on 17 June, bringing the total tally of new cases to more than 100 over the past five days. The new surge in cases is believed to have originated from a major wholesale food market in the city. Beijing raised its disease alert level to Level 3 on 16 June, with communities in high-risk districts placed on lockdown to curb the spread of the disease. The flight cancellations come amid recovery in domestic travel demand in recent months. China’s three largest carriers - Air China, China Southern and China Eastern - have all reported consecutive month-on-month increases in domestic passengers carried.

Source: Cirium

Lithuania's government intends to establish a new national airline later this year or early in 2021. The ministry of transport and communications says it will "initiate establishment of a virtual Lithuanian national airline" to restore air links from the Baltic state "in a post-Covid-19 situation", without reliance on external operators. A new national airline will enable the government to "adapt more flexibly to the new demands of the Lithuanian air connectivity… thus minimising dependence on the constantly changing strategies of the foreign air carriers", the ministry argues. It says the project will "most certainly" involve private-sector partnership, but "to which extent remains to be seen". Noting a "highly fluid situation with the pandemic" and the "complexity" of establishing an airline, the ministry adds: "We are still in the early stage of defining which possible solution could be optimal for Lithuania… All options are still on the table." Many airlines have scaled down expansion plans to save costs and because they foresee reduced travel demand over coming years as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Lithuanian leisure carrier Small Planet Airlines suspended operations in 2018. The Vilnius-based airline – which had German and Polish subsidiaries that ceased flights prior to their parent – operated a fleet of eight Airbus A320s before Lithuania's civil aviation authority revoked its licence in November 2018. In 2015, Air Lituanica halted flights less than two years after launching. That airline had operated across Europe with a fleet of Embraer E-Jets. It was the latest attempt to create a stable carrier in the Baltic state following the failure of Lithuanian Airlines in 2009. Latvian carrier Air Baltic operates from Lithuania and Estonia as well as its home country, where it has its main hub at Riga.

Source: Cirium