Joel Szabat

“ In light of these facts, which present a situation in which the Chinese aviation authorities have authorized no U.S. carrier scheduled passenger operations between the United States and China, we conclude that these circumstances require the Department’s action to restore a competitive balance and fair and equal opportunity among U.S. and Chinese air carriers in the scheduled passenger service marketplace. We, therefore, conclude that the public interest requires the suspension of all Chinese carrier scheduled passenger air services between the United States and China. ”

“ During a call on May 14, 2020, the Department addressed with the CAAC the inability of U.S. carriers to resume scheduled passenger service and exercise their full bilateral rights, emphasizing that the CAAC Notice established restrictions for U.S. carriers that are inconsistent with the Agreement. In response, the CAAC informed the Department that China is considering removing the March 12 schedule pre-condition; however, the restriction to once-weekly service on one route to China would remain in place. ”

“ The Agreement also establishes that “each Party shall take all appropriate action to ensure that there exist fair and equal rights for the designated airlines of both Parties to operate the agreed services on the specified routes so as to achieve equality of opportunity, reasonable balance and mutual benefit.” ”