US airlines are pushing back against attempts to add more flights from China, opening another front in a trans-Pacific aviation recovery that remains well short of pre-pandemic levels and increasingly entangled in the geopolitics of Russian airspace.

The latest intervention followed Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for more direct air services between the two countries. But Airlines for America (A4A), representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, has opposed an expansion under the current operating conditions.

At stake is more than another tranche of airline frequencies. China was once one of the US's most valuable long-haul visitor markets, while direct connectivity supported corporate travel, education, hotels and tour operators on both sides of the Pacific. That network has been slow to return.

Russian airspace divides US and Chinese carriers

The immediate dispute centres on Russia. US airlines have been unable to fly through Russian airspace since 2022, when Moscow barred them in response to Washington's ban on Russian aircraft following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Chinese airlines face no such restriction.

That matters on long trans-Pacific sectors. Chinese carriers can use Russian airspace on some US routes, cutting flying time and fuel consumption, while American competitors must take longer routings. A4A argues that allowing Chinese airlines to expand under those conditions would deepen the competitive imbalance. The disagreement surfaced earlier this month when US carriers opposed Air China's plans for additional Beijing-New York and Beijing-Washington services.

It is an argument being heard elsewhere. Finnair CEO Turkka Kuusisto recently said Chinese airlines' continued access to Russian airspace was distorting competition between Europe and Asia. A Shanghai-Helsinki service using Russian airspace can take about eight hours, compared with more than 12 hours when avoiding it. For an industry built around aircraft utilisation and thin operating margins, four hours is hardly a marginal difference.

Capacity remains a fraction of its former scale

The row comes against a much bigger problem: US-China aviation has never regained its pre-Covid momentum.

Before the pandemic, airlines on each side were permitted more than 150 weekly round trips. Current permitted passenger services remain far below that level.

Aviation Week reported that Air China operated an additional Beijing-New York JFK service on September 19, with another Beijing-Washington Dulles round trip scheduled for September 25. US airlines have resisted treating such operations as a route towards permanently expanding scheduled capacity.

American, Delta and United are expected to operate a combined 50 weekly round trips during the 2026-27 winter season, while seeking temporary waivers covering 79 of their 129 available frequencies, according to Aviation Week.

That points to another complication. US carriers themselves are not rushing to restore every China frequency available to them. Aircraft have been redeployed to other international markets, while demand patterns, corporate travel and the economics of flying to China have changed markedly since 2019.

The contrast with the wider international recovery is stark. US government figures show international air passenger traffic reached 22.7 million passengers in May 2026, equivalent to 103.3% of May 2019 volume. Yet non-US citizen arrivals were still only 82.4% of their May 2019 level, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.

Tourism industry has a stake in the outcome

For the US tourism industry, China remains a market worth rebuilding. The National Travel and Tourism Office forecasts around 1.62 million Chinese visitors to the US in 2026, rising to roughly 2.25 million by 2030. The recovery, however, remains dependent on airline capacity, visa processing, consumer confidence and the broader political relationship between Washington and Beijing.

China also matters beyond leisure. US government data recorded 25,133 Chinese business arrivals in March 2026, placing the country among the five largest overseas business travel markets for the month. China was also the leading overseas source of student arrivals, with 23,978.

For hotels, destinations, tour operators and travel management companies, more nonstop flights would remove one of the practical constraints on rebuilding the market. But additional seats alone will not recreate 2019. The composition of demand has changed, corporate travel has shifted and airlines have found profitable uses for widebody capacity elsewhere.

The next phase of the US-China aviation recovery will therefore be shaped as much in Washington and Beijing as in airline network planning departments.

Until the Russian overflight issue is resolved — or the two governments agree on terms both sides consider commercially workable — the restoration of one of international aviation's biggest pre-pandemic markets is likely to remain measured rather than rapid.