WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A trade group representing major U.S. passenger and cargo carriers has asked the State Department to “act urgently” to address the needs of airlines to secure rights to overfly Russian airspace, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, Delta Airlines, FedEx Corp, United Parcel Service and others, in an Oct. 14 letter asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken for his intervention.
“Many U.S. airlines urgently need additional rights to overfly Russian airspace to meet market demands,” the letter said, adding without additional rights “U.S. airlines will be forced to operate on alternate, inefficient routes resulting in time penalties, technical stops, excess CO2 emissions and loss of historic slot rights.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)
