French national carrier Air France is demanding that the French government impose taxes or take other measures against Chinese airlines due to what it considers to be unfair competition, as European airlines need to fly around Russia, media reported Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2023) French national carrier Air France is demanding that the French government impose taxes or take other measures against Chinese airlines due to what it considers to be unfair competition, as European airlines need to fly around Russia, media reported Tuesday.
China's tourism market has only recently reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 15, the Chinese authorities began to consider visa applications from foreign citizens. The European Union is interested in restoring the tourist flow from China, however, due to the sanctions imposed against Moscow, European airlines, unlike Chinese ones, can no longer use the airspace of Russia. The companies are forced to extend flights by 2-3 hours, which increases fuel and staff costs.
To address the disparity, Air France has requested government measures so that the cost of flights becomes equal for air carriers, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
At the same time, the French company intends to increase the number of flights to China to six per week from May, and to 14 from July, the report added.
In March, French multinational hospitality company Accor, French travel and tourism operator Club Med, French department store chain Galeries Lafayette and international airport operator Aeroports de Paris asked French President Emmanuel Macron to start accepting more flights from China. During his visit to China in April, Macron raised the issue of restoring the volume of air traffic between the two countries that existed before the coronavirus pandemic, which entails 50 flights a week.
