British Airways Joins Two Other Airlines in Suspending China Route due to Russia Airspace Ban

British Airways will stop flights between London and Beijing starting from Oct. 26, as confirmed by the company on Thursday.

This decision makes British Airways the third commercial airline to announce the suspension of a route to China recently due to the ongoing ban on Western airlines using Russian airspace.

As a subsidiary of the International Airlines Group (IAG), British Airways did not provide a specific reason for this decision.

Like many Western airlines, British Airways has had to redirect flights to avoid Russian airspace, leading to longer flight times.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, a British Airways spokesperson mentioned, “We will be pausing our route to Beijing from October 26, and we’re contacting affected customers to provide rebooking options or full refunds.

“Our daily flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong will continue as usual.”

The suspension is anticipated to last until at least November 2025.

British Airways had previously suspended its London–Beijing route for three years during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flights were not resumed until June 2023, with the company highlighting the route as one of its “most important routes.”

The decision to pause flights to and from Beijing follows the reduction of flights between London and Hong Kong by British Airways, from two flights a day to one, due to longer flight times and increased costs resulting from the ban on Russian airspace.

Furthermore, less than a month ago, Virgin Atlantic announced the suspension of flights between London Heathrow and Shanghai—their only route to China—from Oct. 26, citing “significant challenges and complexities” as reasons for discontinuing the service that had been operational since 1999.

Vigin Atlantic had also suspended this route during the pandemic and resumed operations in May 2023.

These changes will allow British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to utilize the valuable London Heathrow takeoff and landing slots for potentially more profitable routes.

In May, Australian airline Qantas announced the suspension of flights between Sydney and Shanghai from July 28, citing lower demand, shortly after resuming flights post-pandemic.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western airlines were prohibited from using Russian airspace.

Routing detours have increased flight times, leading to higher fuel and salary costs, as well as added complexities in crew and plane deployment.

Chinese Airlines Gain Market Share

Meanwhile, Chinese carriers have continued to opt for shorter northern routes to Europe and North America, avoiding Russian airspace.

British Airways’ four-day-a-week Beijing–London flight takes approximately two-and-a-half hours longer than China Southern’s daily flight on the same route introduced last year, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24.

These disparities have given Chinese airlines a cost advantage, enabling them to capture a larger share of the international market amidst stiff competition on domestic routes that has driven down ticket prices and profitability.

According to Cirium schedule data analyzed by Reuters, Chinese airlines like China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China operated 90% of the international flights they were servicing in July 2019, while foreign carriers only operated 60% of their pre-pandemic flights, indicating a retreat.

China’s international air traffic has been gradually recovering since the lifting of pandemic restrictions at the beginning of 2023, albeit at a slower pace compared to other countries, due to economic challenges and a shift towards domestic travel, exacerbated by political tensions.

Contributions by Reuters.