Dozens of airlines avoid Russian airspace, adding up to 4 hours to flights between Europe and Asia.

According to Flightradar24, no less than 21 airlines redirected flights to avoid Russian airspace, adding up to 4 hours to some flights. Routes between Europe and Asia were the hardest hit after Russia closed airspace to European airlines on the back of reciprocity.

In this context, airlines are forced to operate longer flights or suspend flights on some routes, either due to distance or excessive costs.

Most airlines, which have flights between Europe and Asia, have moved their routes south to avoid Russian airspace. Instead of heading east through Russia and then south to destinations in Japan, South Korea, China and other parts of Southeast Asia, the flights have routes through Turkey, Central Asia, China and Mongolia.

For example, Japan Airlines flight JL43, operated between Tokyo and London, lasted an average of 12 hours when flying over Russia. The new trajectory, which passes through Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Iceland, has increased the flight time to 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Finnair also has a similar problem. The flight from Helsinki to Tokyo used to take 8 hours and 57 minutes from Europe to Japan. Now, with the new trajectory, the flight time has increased by another four hours.