SIA, Lufthansa and other airlines add over 15 Singapore-Europe flights in March amid Iran war

[SINGAPORE] Some airlines, including Singapore Airlines (SIA), Air France, British Airways and German national carrier Lufthansa will add more than 15 flights between Singapore and Europe in March.

The addition of these flights to European destinations such as Frankfurt, London, Munich and Paris is in response to “higher passenger demand”, said airport operator Changi Airport Group on Friday (Mar 13).

This comes amid the US-Israel attack on Iran that has caused major disruptions at aviation hubs in the Middle East, a traditional gateway between Asia and Europe.

SIA said that it will operate an additional service from Singapore to London’s Heathrow Airport on Mar 18 and 25, as well as one more service from the Republic to Frankfurt in Germany on Mar 27.

“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 said on its website that four extra flights between Singapore and Munich in Germany in the coming weeks are open for booking.

It added that this is due to the rise in demand for long-haul flights at short notice.

These flights will be on top of Lufthansa’s daily services from Singapore to Munich. The airline typically operates two flights on this route on most days, except Thursday.

ST has contacted Air France and British Airways for comment.

Following the US-Israel attack on Iran on Feb 28 and Iran’s retaliation on most of the Gulf states, many major airports in the Middle East have closed.

Travellers are looking for alternatives to Asia-Europe routes that rely heavily on Middle Eastern airport hubs, as drone and missile attacks have curtailed flights there.

ST previously reported that these alternative routes include flying through the Caucasus corridor of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, a longer southern route around the Arabian Peninsula over Oman or the Indian Ocean, or connecting at European hubs.

Australian national carrier Qantas said on Thursday that its QF9 flight – originally meant to be a non-stop flight from Perth to London – will now stop over in Singapore for fuel because of flight path adjustments arising from the closed airspace in the Middle East.

The extra fuel is necessary for the longer route skirting the Middle Eastern airspace en route to Europe.

The airline said there is no impact on its other flights, including those between Singapore and London. THE STRAITS TIMES