US airlines have asked Congress and the White House to ban foreign carriers serving the US from operating such flights through Russia. The New York Times writes about it.
Due to the ban imposed by Moscow on American airlines to fly over Russia, they were forced to reorganize their routes to Asia bypassing the territory of the Russian Federation, which led to increased flight times and fuel consumption.
At the same time, companies from China, India or the Middle East do not face such restrictions – that is why they can offer their customers much lower ticket prices.
In one year, US airlines have lost market share estimated at $2 billion because of this.
According to the NYT, the US Department of Transportation has already prepared a draft order banning Chinese airlines from flying to the US via Russia.
In the US Senate, possible restrictions on Chinese air carriers flying over Russia, discussed back in February. Then, no decision was made.
Russia has banned American and European carriers from flying in its airspace in response to the ban on Russian airlines flying to Europe and the United States, introduced in the early days after the Russian invasion of the ‘Ukraine. In total, the Russian Federation has closed the skies to planes from 36 countries.