American Airlines Pilots Sue to Stop U.S.-China Flights

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, is suing American Airlines in an effort to immediately halt U.S.-China services amid the current coronavirus epidemic.

In the lawsuit, the APA refers to the new travel warnings issued by the United States Center for Disease Control, which discourages “nonessential travel” to China in the middle of this epidemic. Additionally, the World Health Organization has declared coronavirus a “public health emergency.” The State Department recently issued a Level 4 travel advisory for China, its highest level of caution. Coronavirus is a category of virus that can cause fever, breathing difficulties, pneumonia, and diarrhea, some of which can be fatal. So far, there are 7,711 confirmed cases, with at least 200 deaths, from the coronavirus strain originating in Wuhan, China, according to the Washington Post.

According to the New York Times, Wuhan is a major transportation hub in China, linked by high-speed railways and domestic airlines to the rest of the country. While Wuhan is under quarantine, coronavirus has spread to 15 other countries and five million people reportedly left the city before the quarantine began. Each American Airlines crewmember working a trip to China is required to be on the ground for approximately 32 hours between flights to comply with federal rest regulations, leaving them potentially vulnerable to contracting the new coronavirus strain, the APA says. APA President Eric Ferguso said, “we estimate that as many as 300 passengers and crew travel to [Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport] alone from Chinese cities on each American Airlines flight. To us, that level of risk is unacceptable.”

While American Airlines has announced that it will suspend flights between Los Angeles International Airport and China, the airline said that it had no plans to cancel other flights to popular destinations like Dallas. As inquiries yield new discoveries about coronavirus, airlines may have to alter their routine U.S.-China flight policies to accommodate the safety of their employees and U.S. citizens.