appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Ralph Jennings

European airlines are adding flights to China despite costly airspace barriers over Russia to capture surging tourism demand and vie with Chinese carriers, analysts said.
The frequency of direct China-Europe flights will climb from 3,011 this month to a per-month maximum of 4,151 in August at the height of summer, British aviation intelligence firm OAG said on Sunday.
The same span of time last year saw a similar flight frequency in May, but an increase to only 3,393 flights by that August.
Though the data reflects more activity on Chinese airlines, it lists hundreds of flights scheduled by European carriers such as Air France, Air Serbia, British Airways, Finnair, KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and Turkish Airlines.
This month, frequency by European airlines – excluding Russian carriers – on China-Europe routes is expected to be at 508 before reaching 551 in July and August, OAG data shows. Their frequency made a smaller jump, from 445 to 463, between May and August last year.
Unlike their Chinese peers, European airlines are banned from flying over Russia en route to China and forced to take detours that lengthen flight times and use more jet fuel – the price of which has soared during this year’s Middle East conflict. Jet fuel cost US$181.22 per barrel as of May 1, the International Air Transport Association said.
Normally popular Europe-Southeast Asia routes are harder to fly this year due to the danger of passing over Iranian airspace, analysts said, while China has been relaxing visa-free entry rules for European travellers since 2023.


US-Israeli strikes on Iran since February 28 have made Iranian airspace risky while cramping fuel availability, alongside higher prices.
“The demand comes from the surge of China visits from Europe,” independent civil aviation analyst Li Hanming said. “Due to the throttled flights to Southeast Asia, European visitors are considering China a good place to visit this summer. Russian airspace is not a big issue now.”
Russia banned a list of European and North American airlines from its airspace in 2022 over their home countries’ sanctions against Moscow relating to the war in Ukraine.
The ban gives Chinese carriers a cost advantage on their Europe routes, since diversions around Russia add two to three hours to a China-Europe flight and raise costs by at least US$10,000 per hour, according to OAG estimates.
Air France will increase its Shanghai-Paris service to 10 from seven weekly flights in September and October, an airline spokeswoman said. By September, the carrier and its sister airline KLM will operate a combined 29 weekly passenger flights, connecting Beijing and Shanghai with Paris and Amsterdam, she added.
“This expansion reflects a strategic response to the local market demand,” the Air France-KLM spokeswoman said.
“With some customers choosing to avoid Gulf hub routings, demand on direct Asia–Europe services has increased, particularly in recent months,” she said. “In response, Air France and KLM have deployed larger aircraft and added capacity on selected routes to better accommodate this shift in travel patterns.”


Air China Boeing 747 grounded in New York following gate refuelling incident

More interest in home-grown C919 lays bare demand-supply mismatch at Comac

‘Very smooth’: passenger shares experience on C919’s first commercial international flight

China’s civil aviation ambitions gain some lift

China airliners

European airlines adding China flights despite Russian airspace barrier

An Air France Airbus A319-111 airplane taxis at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris, as demand for China-Europe flights climbs despite increased fuel prices due to conflict in the Middle East. Photo: Reuters 

Canada’s push to rebuild ties with China hits a snag: a lack of direct flights

An Air Canada Boeing 787 aircraft passes by rows of cherry trees as it approaches Vancouver International Airport. Photo: AP

Chinese travellers flock to Central Asia as flight bookings soar 120% on pre-Covid levels

Ground staf and crew members for the inaugural flight of China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, pose for a group photo. A new direct passenger air route connecting the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai and the Uzbek capital of Tashkent was launched in March. Photo: Xinhua

More bookings, shorter trips: Chinese adjust to higher fuel prices for Labour Day break

Chinese tourists wearing traditional Thai costumes shield themselves from the sun at Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, in Bangkok on April 14. Photo: EPA

Tourists visit a food street in Xuanen county, Hubei province, during the Chinese New Year holiday in February. Photo: Xinhua

2,700 China-Japan flights axed in March as rift between Asian powers deepens

Air China planes are seen parked on the tarmac at an airport in Beijing in 2020. Photo: AFP

Asia air travel faces turbulence as Iran war exposes jet fuel vulnerability

A Vietjet Airline airplane in front of a Vietnam Airlines airplane, at Noi Bai International Airport, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 28, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Economy

China Economy

Demand for China-Europe flights surges as airlines avoid Iranian, Russian airspace and divert tourists away from Southeast Asia


Demand for China-Europe flights surges as airlines avoid Iranian, Russian airspace and divert tourists away from Southeast Asia.


European airlines adding China flights despite Russian airspace barrier

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Demand for China-Europe flights surges as airlines avoid Iranian, Russian airspace and divert tourists away from Southeast Asia

Demand for China-Europe flights surges as airlines avoid Iranian, Russian airspace and divert tourists away from Southeast Asia