US airlines want rivals out of Russian skies too

Unable to fly through Russian airspace because of the war in Ukraine, US airlines are stepping up a lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill and at the White House to address what they say is a growing problem: They are losing business to foreign competitors like Air India and Emirates who can take passengers between the US and Asia faster and more cheaply.

These airlines are effectively banned from polar routes that save time and fuel between the US and an array of destinations on the other side of the world. Now US airlines are pressing the White House and Congress to subject foreign carriers from nations not already banned from Russian airspace to the same restrictions applied to them, effectively forcing them to fly the same routes as their American competitors.