United Airlines has cut down flights to China from USA by removing 161 flights from its March schedule, affecting multiple airports including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D. C.
The route with the most canceled flights was from Newark Liberty International Airport to Beijing and Shanghai, with more than 6,000 passengers lost on each route. United Airlines scheduled two flights in March, with just 500 passengers on each route.
United Airlines has canceled 23 flights each from:
- San Francisco to Shanghai
- Los Angeles to Shanghai
- Washington Dulles to Beijing
The previous schedule change was intended to allow United to increase flights on several routes, including:
- Newark to Shanghai
- Washington Dulles to Beijing
- Los Angeles to Shanghai.
United had already increased frequency on these routes in March, but then cut back, further delaying continued service to China.
The United States and China agreed in October last year to increase the number of weekly flights between the two countries.