British Airways suspends Beijing service amid airspace curbs

British Airways will halt flights between London and Beijing in late October, announcing the suspension little over a year after it resumed the service as a closed Russian airspace complicates operations and demand in the largest Asian economy remains weak.

The airline, owned by IAG SA, said it will halt services until November next year and will keep its schedule under review. BA will continue to operate daily flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong, according to a statement. 

A number of airlines have reduced services to China amid slower demand and longer flight times caused by circumnavigating Russian airspace. The suspension of the Beijing services marks a reversal for BA, which said in January that it would double its Chinese-language speaking cabin crew to 100 to address strong demand for premium leisure travel, with 11 flights a week to mainland China. 

This month, IAG Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said that the group was now seeing weakness in China and the wider Asia region, and airlines including Deutsche Lufthansa AG have pointed to slowing demand between Europe and the continent.

BA’s Beijing suspension comes days after the airline axed one of its two daily flights to Hong Kong. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. is also halting services to China from October on the airspace closures, while Qantas Airways Ltd. cited weak demand when it curbed its Sydney to Shanghai services. 

Many airlines no longer fly over Russia or Ukraine since the start of war in 2022, adding hours worth of flying and complicating some services between Europe and Asia. Chinese airlines continue to overfly Russia, giving them a cost and time advantage. 

BA first started flying to mainland China in 1980, and only stopped the flights in 2020 after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The carrier resumed services to Beijing and Shanghai in 2023.