American Airlines Group confirmed it had changed how its website refers to Taiwan, a move expected to be followed by two other major US carriers in an effort to avoid Chinese penalties.
A check of American Airlines’ website showed it now listed only Taipei’s airport code and city, but not the name Taiwan. Beijing has demanded that foreign companies, and airlines in particular, not refer to Taiwan as non-Chinese territory on their websites, a move described by the White House in May as “Orwellian nonsense”.
China set a final deadline of Wednesday for the changes, and last month rejected US requests for talks on the matter, adding to tensions already raised by an escalating trade conflict.
“Like other carriers, American is implementing changes to address China’s request,” American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said late on Tuesday. “Air travel is global business, and we abide by the rules in countries where we operate.”
Hawaiian Airlines had changed its website before the deadline so that searches for flights to Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, appeared as “Taipei, Taipei” in dropdown menus.
United Airlines and Delta Air Lines still included references to Taiwan late on Tuesday.
The US state department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Tuesday.
Numerous non-US airlines including Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways and Qantas have already made changes to their websites after China’s Civil Aviation Administration sent a letter to 36 foreign air carriers this year.
Analysts see the result as an unfortunate situation for Taiwan and other private companies since China now enjoys more political leverage due to foreign companies’ reliance on its massive market. However, whether such a result would affect the Trump administration’s position on Taiwan was hard to determine.
“Over the years, the US government has said that its policy towards Taiwan is consistent, even though it’s ambiguous,” said David An, a senior research fellow at Global Taiwan Institute. “It’s hard to say if [the airline listings] is going to change [Washington’s position] on Taiwan.”
The announcement came as China further increased pressure on Taiwan, a self-ruled island considered by China as part of its territory. On Monday, a group of LGBTQ activists accused China of forcing organisers of the Gay Games to ban the Taiwanese flag at the competition in Paris next month. According to the group, the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) originally agreed to let the Taiwanese delegation compete under the name “Taiwan” and use its national flag, but last week, they were told the French government had concerns about showcasing the Taiwanese flag. Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times said some powers in Taiwan "disregard other people's opinions". "It proves they are hitting their heads against a wall. It’s a deserved lesson for them to break their heads and bleed."
Despite the growing aggression from China, An thought it would be unlikely for the Taiwanese government to be accommodating towards the latest developments. “I think what [the Taiwanese government] is doing is in line with what the US government had already said,” An said. “Taiwan is doing its best to tell US companies not to be forced by China’s policies.”
Reuters contributed to this report