Three Asia-bound American Airlines flights that normally fly over Russia have been rerouted via LAX, as the airline assesses growing geopolitical tensions.
The three affected routes are Dallas to Beijing, Chicago to Beijing and Dallas to Hong Kong. All three flights, which typically fly over Russia, will be sent through Los Angeles instead, and the measure is expected to cause delays.
It’s unclear if other major carriers offering US-China flights — such as Delta, United Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air China, China Eastern or Hainan Airlines — will follow suit.
American Airlines on Sunday resumed flying routes that use Russian airspace after having rerouted flights on Saturday due to its monitoring of “global geopolitical issues”, a spokesman said.