Asian airlines pick up Europe-bound traffic amid Mid-East route disruptions

With demand strong, several carriers schedule more flights on Asia-Europe routes

- Hazlin Hassan

Disruptions to Middle Eastern airspace are beginning to shift long-haul travel patterns, with Asian carriers picking up a share of Europe-bound passengers who would typically transit through Gulf hubs.

Several Asian carriers told The Straits Times they have scheduled additional flights on Asia-Europe routes and that demand for these segments is “strong”.

This comes as airlines based in the Gulf, including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, have scaled back or suspended some services as conflict-related risks complicate operations across the region, forcing rerouting and cancellations along key corridors linking Europe and Asia.

The disruption affects a critical segment of global aviation. As much as a third of Europe-Asia air traffic and more than half of Europe-Australasia connections are handled by Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Doha, according to industry estimates.

One estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium put the total number of passengers affected by flight cancellations in the Middle East at more than six million.

Many passengers with existing bookings on Gulf carriers are now seeking to defer travel or switch destinations, while new journeys are increasingly routed through Asia-Pacific hubs because of safety concerns.

Ms Shazlina Noordin, a 55-year-old homemaker in Kuala Lumpur, had originally booked a return flight to Heathrow Airport in London on March 27 with Emirates as she usually prefers breaking up the journey with a stopover in the Gulf. But as tensions escalated, her plans changed quickly.

“When the war started, I immediately booked a flight with Malaysia Airlines,” she told ST, citing discomfort with transiting through Dubai. Within days, reports of drone and missile activity near the emirate, followed by flight suspensions, reinforced her decision.