European airlines redraw Asia networks as Gulf tensions push passengers toward non-stop travel

 As geopolitical tensions ripple through West Asian airspace, reshaping passenger preference away from efficient, lower-cost Gulf hub connections toward the certainty of non-stop travel, global carriers such as Lufthansa, Air Canada, and British Airways are redrawing their networks by adding frequencies to India, along with South East Asian and East Asian destinations.

The most significant frequency boost has come from the Lufthansa Group where Lufthansa has stepped-up frequencies across four Indian routes.

Frankfurt–Chennai will increase from five weekly flights to a daily service from April 24 through the end of May; Frankfurt–Hyderabad will rise from five to six weekly flights in May and June; Frankfurt–Delhi will be upgraded from five weekly services to a daily operation for the entire month of June; and Munich–Bengaluru will see frequencies climb from five to six flights per week.

“The additional capacities are being created through an adjustment of the flight program for the Middle East, whereby free resources can be efficiently utilised,” according to a press statement about the aircraft that have become available as airlines cancel capacity to Gulf. “This measure enables Lufthansa and the other airlines of the Group to respond flexibly to the changed booking behavior of travelers, influenced by geopolitical developments,” it added.

Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines has also doubled capacity between Switzerland and India. The airline is adding a second daily Zurich–Delhi service in April and May, supplementing its existing daily flight .

SWISS said in a press statement that its flights changes were in response to a rise in demand for non-stop services as numerous passengers of other airlines were unable to take their originally booked flights via the Gulf region.

While Doha-based Qatar Airways continues to face significant disruptions, Abu- Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has partially restored operations, and Emirates is largely back on track but there continue to be some cancellations. Passengers of other airlines like AirArabia and Oman too have reported cancellations and rescheduling.

Meanwhile, Air Canada which has a daily flight between Toronto and Delhi will add 13 flights in April and 7 flights in May.

Air France has been deploying larger capacity aircraft to Delhi since March 4,2026 beside Bangkok, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Phuket since March 4, 2026. Dutch carrier KLM

It also operated three additional flights to Delhi recently and is exploring further capacity enhancements, with aircraft now freed up following the suspension of services to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam until May 17.

British Airways too has announced a third daily service from Delhi to London from April 7, and also a third daily frequency from Mumbai to London from May 15.

The airline is complementing this with a free meet-and-greet service at London Heathrow Airport for those travelling to Toronto and Vancouver. This includes assisting passengers with airport navigation and onward connections, with additional support available upon arrival.

Key Asian hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok too have seen a capacity ramp up, but Lufthansa’s most significant capacity addition has been to India.

On whether there would be further addition of flights from Lufthansa, its  Senior Director – Regional Sales, South Asia, Kevin Markette told The Hindu, “We are looking at it dynamically to see where to optimise and where we have spare aircraft and rights available to add more flights”.

He is also pleased with the response to the new flights, with Swiss’s additional flights that started two days ago “going full” on many days.

There is, of course, a premium attached to non-stop travel along with strong demand pushing fares to nearly double the normal levels—a Delhi–Frankfurt ticket for travel 25 days out is currently priced at around ₹62,000

“While airfares are driven by demand for these flights, the new flights offer competitive fares for customers looking for better value,” Markette said. 

That was a reference to Air India, which has operated over 100 additional flights to Europe and North America since the February 28 escalation in West Asia. However, the airline has had to contend with significantly longer routings as it is avoiding Iranian airspace like all carriers, while also navigating a Pakistan airspace ban that applies only to Indian airlines. This has extended flying times by 60–90 minutes on Europe routes and by nearly five hours on services to North American destinations such as Vancouver, Toronto, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, among others. Longer flying times are not just more arduous for passengers, but they also raise operating costs for airlines, as higher fuel burn significantly increases the cost of each flight

European carriers re-capturing passenger traffic from India is also an opportunity for Europe to strengthen its position as a transit hub, with nearly 30% of Indian travellers connecting onward within Europe and another 30–40% heading to North America.

Published – April 03, 2026 08:31 pm IST