British Airways to suspend ‘one of its most important routes’

British Airways will stop flying from London Heathrow to Beijing. There are several reasons why the British airline has stopped flying to the Chinese capital.

The route is due to be removed on October 26 and will last at least a year. That date also marks the start of winter. During the coronavirus pandemic, the route was also closed for three years due to strict rules surrounding the pandemic in China. When the capitals could be linked again, British Airways described it as “one of the most important routes” for the airline. Since then, British Airways has been connecting the UK capital to Beijing four times a week. “We will be temporarily suspending our Beijing route from October 26, 2024,” the British airline said in a press release.

British Airways did not disclose the exact reason for the route cancellation, according to the trade magazine. HeadforPoints There are at least two reasons. The most important is the closure of Russian airspace, which forces the airline to take a long detour. However, Chinese competition is able to use North Asian airspace, allowing it to significantly reduce ticket prices. Moreover, Chinese tourism has not yet fully recovered. A combination of these two reasons is leading to a lack of demand for air travel with British Airways. The airline still flies to the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Not entirely unexpected.

British Airways’ cancellation of the route is not entirely unexpected. Virgin Atlantic previously stopped serving its only East Asian destination for the same reason. Australian Flag bearer Qantas has also cancelled flights to mainland China due to “half full flights”.

KLM still flies to the Chinese capital (PEK). Shanghai (PVG), Guangzhou (CAN) and Hong Kong (HKG) are also part of the Dutch carrier’s network.