SFO in middle of aviation spat between US and China [UPDATED]

UPDATE: On Thursday China eased its ban on foreign airlines, allowing them one flight per week, shortly after the Trump administration moved to block Chinese airlines from flying to the U.S. According to a Bloomberg report, China was "changing course a day after the Trump administration demanded the country reopen to US airlines for face curbs on its own carriers flying passengers to America...the move opens up a chance for U.S. airlines to return to China in four months."

Original post begins here: The Trump administration moved Wednesday to block Chinese airlines from flying to the U.S. in an escalation of trade and travel tensions between the two countries. The move will affect several flights at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The Transportation Department said it would suspend passenger flights of four Chinese airlines to and from the United States starting June 16.

The decision was a response to China's failure to let United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resume flights this week to China, which were suspended earlier this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic that started in China's Wuhan province.

The move will have a big impact on the recovery at SFO, where United was hoping to resume passenger flights to China on June 4, including nonstops to Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu.

It will also affect nonstop flights from several cities in China to the U.S. on Chinese airlines, including Air China flights from Beijing, China Southern flights from Guangzhou and China Eastern flights from Shanghai.

Flights between the US and Hong Kong are not affected by the moves.

It's still possible for passengers to travel between the US and China, but getting there will now require a stop in another country such as Japan or Taiwan.

Most of these carriers have been operating a thin schedule of cargo-only flights on US-China routes during the course of the pandemic.

The Transportation Department said that China was violating an agreement between the two countries covering flights by each other's airlines.

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“The Department will continue to engage our Chinese counterparts so both U.S. and Chinese carriers can fully exercise their bilateral rights,” the agency said in a statement. “In the meantime, we will allow Chinese carriers to operate the same number of scheduled passenger flights as the Chinese government allows ours.”

The department said President Donald Trump could put the order into effect before June 16.

The four airlines affected by the order are Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

Before the pandemic, there were about 325 passenger flights a week between the United States and China, including ones operated by United, Delta and American Airlines. While U.S. carriers stopped their flights, Chinese airlines continued to fly about 20 times a week between the two countries in mid-February and increased that to 34 flights a week by mid-March, according to the Transportation Department.

United and Delta announced last month that they hoped to resume flights to China in June, as air travel has recovered slightly since mid-April. American's schedule shows flights resuming in October; it has not announced any plans to restart service sooner.

Chicago-based United, Atlanta-based Delta and Fort Worth, Texas-based American did not immediately comment on the Transportation Department order.

SFGATE senior travel correspondent Chris McGinnis contributed to this story