US orders suspension of all flights by Chinese airlines from June 16

The transportation department said US President Donald Trump could put the order into effect before June 16

USA's Donald Trump administration moved Wednesday to block Chinese airlines from flying to the US in an escalation of trade and travel tensions between the two countries.

The Transportation Department said it would suspend passenger flights of four Chinese airlines to and from the United States starting June 16.

The decision was a response to China's failure to let United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resume flights this week to China, which were suspended earlier this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic that started in China's Wuhan province.