Russian airspace access gives Xi’s flight a shorter route to the US

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flight from Beijing to the United States was several hours shorter than Donald Trump’s journey to China in May, largely because Chinese aircraft can use Russian airspace while US planes cannot. According to flight-tracking platform Flightradar24, Xi’s aircraft landed in the United States at about 5.40pm local time on Wednesday after a journey of roughly 13½ hours. Trump’s flight from Beijing in May took close to 16 hours, excluding a refuelling stop in Alaska that lasted about 90 minutes.

Xi travelled on a modified Boeing 747 drawn from the Air China fleet. His aircraft used a route over Russia, Alaska and Canada, a path he described during a private tea session at the White House. The same aircraft took about 15 hours on its return journey on Friday afternoon local time.

Trump’s Air Force One flight to Beijing took nearly 18 hours, including the Alaska stop, according to US media reports cited in the source material. The difference stems from reciprocal airspace restrictions introduced after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia barred US and many other foreign carriers from its airspace in 2022 in response to Western bans on Russian flights.

Chinese airlines remain permitted to operate eight weekly round trips through Russian airspace on US routes, giving them access to a shorter path. US airline industry representatives argue that the arrangement creates an uneven competitive environment. Chris Sununu, head of Airlines for America, said the detours imposed a major cost because carriers had to spend more on fuel and operating time.

US-China air services remain below pre-pandemic levels. Airlines from each country are currently allowed 50 weekly round trips, compared with more than 150 before restrictions were introduced in early 2020. Xi called at a White House ceremony for more direct flights, but US carriers remain opposed to expansion while the airspace imbalance continues.