New flight routes favor Asian airlines

The big winner in the closing of Russian airspace to European airlines: Air China Cargo

The closure of Russian airspace is wreaking havoc on air traffic. Longer travel times are to be expected on China routes. Costs are rising for cargo airlines, which could also affect supply chains and prices. Meanwhile, Asian airlines will be able to continue taking the shorter routes – to Europe’s disadvantage.

Russian airspace has been closed to aircraft from the EU since Monday. Over the weekend, two Lufthansa flights to Seoul and to Tokyo were already forced to turn back mid-flight and return to Munich and Frankfurt, respectively. „Due to the ongoing dramatic developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Lufthansa will no longer use Russian airspace,“ a spokeswoman said on Monday.

Sign up now and continue reading immediately