Trump administration bans Chinese airline flights to U.S.

President Donald Trump's administration will bar Chinese airline companies from flying to the United States effective June 16 in the latest tit-for-tat spat between Washington and Beijing.

Conway G.

Gittens has the details.

In another escalation of tensions between Washington and Beijing, the White House Wednesday placed a ban on Chinese passenger airlines from flying into the U.S. starting June 16th.

The Department of Transportation said the ban will go into effect because China has failed to comply with an existing air travel agreement on flights between the world's two biggest economies.

Up until this point, Chinese commercial and charter flights were still permitted to fly into the U.S. during the current health crisis – mainly to fly Chinese students back home, but China has yet to permit U.S. carriers such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to resume ANY flights to China.

The two companies complained to the White House about the double standard.

Major U.S. airlines voluntarily stopped passenger flights between the two countries in February after President Trump banned entry of non-U.S. citizens from Chinese locations but cargo flights kept flying.

The DOT said in a formal notice that the Chinese are unable to say when they will once again let U.S. carriers reinstate flight schedules.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.