China Eastern pulls Madrid service amid subsidy crackdown

China Eastern Airlines Co. is pulling its twice-weekly flight from Wenzhou to Madrid at the end of this month as the country’s aviation officials crack down on subsidies underpinning international flights from smaller cities. The carrier has stopped accepting bookings for the route, which started in November last year, its website shows. While Wenzhou, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) south of Shanghai has a population of 9.8 million — larger than New York City — its airport doesn’t offer a vast range of international flights, with only services to Rome, Milan, Tokyo, Seoul and Bangkok left. China Eastern Airlines didn’t respond to a request for comment. International flights from mid-tier Chinese cities are coming under scrutiny as the Civil Aviation Administration of China seeks to reign in services that may only exist because they’re heavily subsidized. Such flights have long been possible because local governments, in an effort to shore up regional tourism, have offered Chinese carriers financial incentives to serve their cities.<br/>