Examined: How & Why China’s International Flight Network Is Becoming Increasingly Isolated

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s international flight profile has radically shifted. This has been mostly driven by geopolitics, with some countries capitalizing on the pandemic to ensure connections were not re-established. This article examines the change in flights between Mainland China and the United States, Europe, and India, comparing October 2019 with October 2024 using data from Cirium (an aviation analytics company). Note that this article does not examine how China’s international flights may have recovered outside of those regions.