The current conflict in the Middle East has caused airlines to navigate tight airspace as pilots reroute to avoid the Middle East, and capacity on popular routes quickly fills up.
Higher passenger demand has led some airlines, including Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Thai Airways, and Cathay Pacific, to add more flights between Asia and Europe in March.
Vietnam Airlines adds 1,000 seats on the European sector
Vietnam Airlines has announced adjustments to its flight operation plan, adding nearly 1,000 seats on routes between Vietnam and Europe during the peak travel period amid operational constraints linked to the situation in the Middle East.
To better meet rising travel demand, in March alone, the carrier plans to switch 11 pairs of flights between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Munich to operations using the Airbus A350 aircraft, which offers a higher seat capacity
Singapore Airlines to operate additional services to London and Frankfurt
Singapore Airlines said on March 13 that it will operate an additional service from Singapore to London’s Heathrow Airport on March 18 and 25, as well as one more service from Singapore to Frankfurt on 27 March as reported by The Straits Times.
“This is in response to increased demand for air travel on these routes,” said the airline.
These services are in addition to SIA’s existing four daily flights from Singapore to London Heathrow, one daily flight to London Gatwick Airport, and three daily flights to Frankfurt. It will operate a wide-body Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on these additional services.
Lufthansa Group mounts extra flights due to high demand
Due to the rise in demand for long-haul flights at short notice, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group will be offering numerous extra flights, particularly to Asia and Africa.
Lufthansa Airlines plans to add several extra flights at short notice in the coming weeks. Four extra flights from Munich to Singapore and back have been announced. These flights will be added on top of Lufthansa’s daily services from Singapore to Munich.
There will also be two special flights from Frankfurt to Cape Town and back. In addition, two extra flights from Frankfurt to Riyadh are planned.
Austrian Airlines has already set up 10 special flights from Vienna to Bangkok and back.
Thai Airways
Thai Airways has added a special return flight between Bangkok and Paris on 18 March, to help relieve the backlog of stranded passengers and accommodate rising demand for travel.
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific will operate four additional passenger flights to and from London-Heathrow and additional capacity to Zurich in March.
Africa and Europe
Air travel between Africa and Europe is set to receive a short-term lift as Air Seychelles prepares to launch nonstop flights linking the Indian Ocean island nation with Paris. The carrier said the new direct service to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport will begin on 20 March, The airline plans to operate three flights a week for an initial one-month period.
