China

Chinese aircraft manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China — shortened to Comac — has received the type inspection authorization for its C919 narrowbody aircraft, allowing it to move to the final phase of flight testing and eventual certification, FlightGlobal reports. Comac will promptly begin testing the aircraft, and it hopes to receive an airworthiness certificate […]

The Boeing 737 MAX has obtained clearance by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume commercial flight in the U.S., but this doesn’t mean its problems are over. In fact — while in the past an FAA approval was almost automatically endorsed by other regulators around the world to allow commercial operations almost anywhere on […]

In an important ramp up following Chinese market recovery, United Airlines yesterday announced it will start a four-times-weekly nonstop service to China between San Francisco International Airport and Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport. Beginning Oct. 21, the carrier will operate four weekly nonstop flights with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from San Francisco to Shanghai on Wednesdays, Fridays, […]

Finnair is resuming another service to China on Sept. 11. The Oneworld Alliance carrier will resume flying to Nanjing, China, from its Helsinki hub, using an Airbus A350-900XWB. The carrier previously served Nanjing’s Lukou International Airport with an Airbus A330-300 before it suspended all flights to China in light of COVID-19 in the country earlier […]

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced in a press release that it will resume flying direct to Hangzhou, China from its Amsterdam hub beginning Aug. 27. The flight will only be operated once a week via Incheon, South Korea with a Boeing 777-200. However, the airline has intentions to add a second weekly flight as soon […]

The United States government is finalizing a law to prohibit its government from using drones made in China, ainonline reports. The National Defense Authorization Act bans the purchase of commercial drones made by a “covered foreign entity” by any U.S. government agency. This ban includes drone components including drivetrains, cameras and circuit boards. Under the new […]

Qatar Airways officially resumed flights to Helsinki on July 29, serving the Finnish capital with three weekly flights, reinstating access from the Gulf region to the Baltic region of Northern Europe. The Finnish capital is the latest long-haul destination, from Northern Europe, which has seen flight resumptions from the national carrier of Qatar, which plans […]

Korean Air will be resuming passenger flights to Tianjin in neighboring northeast China after five months of service suspension. Flights between Incheon International Airport and Tianjin were suspended in early February due to the COVID-19 outbreak in China. According to Korean Air, flights will run every two weeks on Tuesdays during July and August. Frequencies […]

Delta will resume service from Seattle and Detroit to Shanghai via Seoul on June 25 and July 1 respectively, operating twice a week. Despite the tensions and disputes between the U.S. government and China over operating flights between the two countries, Delta will be the first U.S. airline to reconnect both countries since the temporary […]

The Chinese government will allow international airlines to operate into China at limited capacity. The announcement followed the United States’ decision to ban Chinese carriers from entering the U.S. starting June 16, a move made in retribution to a similar move made by China. Foreign airlines originally banned from operating in China amid the coronavirus […]