INDUSTRY BRIEF: British Airways cancels flights to Beijing

UK flagship airline British Airways (IAG.L) announced it would stop flying between London and Beijing, joining a growing number of Western airlines curtailing their China flights due to bans on flying over Russian airspace, the BBC reported. Western carriers have been prohibited from flying over Russian airspace since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, forcing them to use longer routes to get to China than their Chinese rivals.

British Airways only resumed flying between London and Beijing last year, calling it “one of our most important routes” at the time. But its CFO told investors last month that the airline was facing “weak demand” in China, according to the BBC. The airline said it is also canceling one of its two daily flights to Hong Kong but will continue flying to Shanghai.

Last month Britain’s other major airline, Virgin Atlantic, announced it would cancel its flights between London and Shanghai from October. It pointed out that its flights took one to two hours longer than those of Chinese rivals due to its inability to fly over Russian airspace. Flights from China to North America and Europe have been slow to recover in general post-pandemic due to the airspace restrictions and weak demand.