Major global airlines are reducing services and, in some instances, withdrawing from China altogether as longer routes to Asia following the closure of Russian airspace have raised operational costs, while demand has been low.
Virgin Atlantic and Scandinavian Airlines, for instance, are completely withdrawing from China, the companies’ websites show. Virgin Atlantic ceased all flights to Hong Kong — and closed an office there — in 2022, ending the airline’s 30-year presence in the Asian financial hub.
A report from travel news site Skift shows that seven major airlines have retreated from the country in the past four months.