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According to Reuters, on August 8 local time, British Airways said it would suspend flights to Beijing from October 26, 2024 to November 2025, but did not elaborate on the reasons or whether it would launch a new route as a replacement.

British Airways noted that it will continue to operate daily flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

British Airways resumed its Beijing service more than a year ago, describing it at the time as "one of our most important routes" after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was first launched 44 years ago and has a "long history" in international routes between China and the West.

European airlines are reportedly struggling to cope with a ban on flying over Russian airspace, which means it takes several hours longer to fly to Asia than before, making it more expensive and less attractive to customers, Reuters reported.

British Virgin Atlantic Airways also announced in July that it would stop flying to Shanghai in October. At the time, Virgin Atlantic said that the cost increase was not just fuel, but that it had to add a fourth pilot because of the extended flight time.

In addition, if detours increase the number of countries an aircraft passes through, the total route charges paid by airlines to each country will also increase, further pushing up costs.

German airline Lufthansa has also said that competition from Chinese airlines allowed to fly over Russian airspace has cut into their revenues.

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