The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined Panama-headquartered Copa Airlines $450,000 for “unlawfully transporting passengers” between the USA and Venezuela. A US order, imposed in May 2019, bars commercial air carriers from transporting passengers and cargo between the two countries. The rule was enacted due to “security concerns” and bolsters the USA’s simmering conflict with the socialist government of the South American country. Copa has permission to fly to several US airports under the condition that it does not offer any further connections to Venezuela. “An investigation by DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection found that for nearly a month following the issuance of DOT’s 2019 order, Copa sold more than 5,000 tickets for air travel between the United States and Venezuela and transported more than 15,000 passengers on these itineraries,” the DOT said on 17 June. The passengers travelled between 15 May and 11 June 2019. “By transporting passengers between the United States and Venezuela, Copa violated the conditions of its authority to operate and engaged in passenger operations to and from the United States without proper DOT authority,” it adds. The DOT’s filing says Copa responded that it had sold these tickets unwilfully, that it understood “the seriousness of the matter” and cooperated fully. The airline also said it has “taken considerable and substantive steps to avoid future violations”. Half of the fine is to be paid within 120 days, and the other half will become due immediately if Copa repeats the violation within one year. Prior to the 15 May 2019 order, the FAA had banned US carriers and pilots from flying below 26,000ft over the country. An emergency NOTAM stated that the ban would be in place until further notice “due to increasing political instability and tensions in Venezuela and the associated inadvertent risk to flight operations.” Copa Airlines suspended most of its operations after the government of Panama imposed restrictions on international flights due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Before the crisis, however, the airline operated flights to 13 cities in the United States, including New York, San Francisco, Orlando and Washington, DC.

Source: Cirium

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