Washington: As tensions between the US and China grew over the flight cancellations, China slammed the Biden administration's move to cancel 44 flights to China from the US as irrational.
"The US suspending Chinese airlines' flights on this pretext is completely unfair," Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. "We ask the US side to stop disrupting and restricting Chinese airlines' normal passenger flights," Pengyu added.
The Biden administration had previously suspended 44 US flights to China in retaliation for the Chinese government's decision to suspend several US flights due to COVID-19 concerns.
Flights from Xiamen Airlines, China Southern Airlines Company, and Air China are among the carriers whose flights to China have been banned, according to reports. Due to an influx of travellers testing positive for COVID-19, China has cancelled some US aircraft heading for their country.
According to the directive, the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority has suspended 44 passenger flight segments to China by US carriers, despite repeated complaints from the Biden administration.
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