Global Courant 2023-05-31 07:30:06
BEIJING — Less than 6% of US flights to and from mainland China that existed in 2019 have resumed, according to a report by Nomura.
In contrast, flights between mainland China and Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Italy are back almost at pre-pandemic frequency or more, the report found, citing May 22 data from Variflight.
“We think geopolitical factors in China’s outbound tourism revival… clearly play a role here,” Nomura Chief China Economist Ting Lu and a team said in Monday’s report.
In March, China brokered the restoration of diplomatic relations between Middle Eastern rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. Beijing has refused to condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine while calling for peace talks.
Tensions between the US and China, meanwhile, have simmered. China’s ambassador to the US took office last week after a roughly six-month hiatus in which no one held the position.
Last weekend has a Air China flight between Beijing and New York was the first direct passenger on the route by a Chinese airline in months. It was one of them four new weekly flights between the two countries by Chinese airlines approved by the US Department of Transportation in May.
Previously, the only regular direct flights by Chinese airlines between mainland China and New York since the pandemic were from Shanghai and Guangzhou. The non-stop cross-border flights also cover Los Angeles.
Flights of Air China are parked at the apron of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, 28 March 2016.
Kim Kyung Hoon | Reuters
In March, Delta announced it would resume direct flights between the US and China, from Shanghai to Seattle and Detroit.
Overall, international flights from mainland China remain below 40% of 2019 levels, the Nomura report said.
The analysts expect this level to rise to 70% by the end of the year as international flights recover around the summer holidays.
