File Photo: VCG

Delta Air Lines said on Monday it will resume nonstop services between China and the US on March 3, 2023. Nonstop flights will be operated from Shanghai-Pudong to Seattle and Detroit twice a week, respectively.

It is the third carrier in the US to resume direct flight services to China in the past two months.

"The nonstop service will offer a more convenient and comfortable travel experience on Delta's newest aircraft, along with the highest standards in sanitization and cleanliness," said Wong Hong, Delta's President for China. "We are building the foundation to address the increasing travel demand between China and the US."

United Airlines said earlier that it would restore non-stop service from Shanghai to San Francisco without a stopover at South Korea from January 28.

American Airlines (AA) also said on January 9 that it will resume non-stop flights to Shanghai on March 27, in response to the increasing demand.

The last time American Airlines operated non-stop flight services between Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport was in March 2020, when it was suspended due to the impending pandemic, AA said.

The current summer schedule to China sees American Airlines operating the flight service twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, utilizing the airline's Boeing 777-200 fleet. Configured for 273 passengers, the widebody will allow the airline to offer approximately 546 weekly seats to Shanghai.

Data from information provider VariFlight sent to the Global Times showed on Monday that from January 1, 2023 to February 12, 2023, there have been 121 round-trip flights to the US from Chinese mainland, a decrease of 96.9 percent and 96.1 percent compared to the same period in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

However, the planned number of flights from February 13 to March 31 is expected to increase to 370 round-trips, a decrease of 91.4 percent compared to the same period in 2019 but an increase of 3.6 percent compared to the same period in 2020, the data showed.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on January 8 that it has started accepting applications for resuming operations of China-US routes from January 8.

CAAC said it is stepping up the approval work in accordance with the procedures, and welcomes Chinese and American airlines to operate flights between the two countries. CAAC said it will also strengthen communication with the US counterpart to ensure a smooth resumption of flights between China and the US.

Global Times