Virgin Atlantic will terminate its only route to mainland China, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed to Airline Economics. With the airline unable to fly over Russian airspace, operations costs have increased significantly for the airline.
The London Heathrow to Shanghai route was approximately one hour longer as a result of the flight restrictions and two hours longer on return. This required additional aircraft and crew time.
""After careful consideration we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our London Heathrow to Shanghai services, after proudly serving this Asian hub city since 1999,"" said the spokesperson.
The final service from London to Shanghai will be on October 25, 2024, and the final return flight on the following day.
""Significant challenges and complexities on this route have contributed to the commercial decision to suspend flying to Shanghai,"" the spokesperson added. ""We’re sorry for the disappointment caused to our loyal customers and anyone booked to travel from 26 October 2024 will be offered a refund.""
It follows the airline dropping its long-standing Hong Kong route it has served since 1994 in 2022. The flights had initially been suspended in December 2021 as a result of the ongoing Russian airspace closure and had originally anticipated the route to resume in 2023.
In late March this year, Singapore Airlines (SIA) had axed its routes to the three Chinese cities of Chengdu, Chongqing, and Xiamen after it lost its approval to fly them from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Additionally, Qantas axed its only mainland China route, which flew from Sydney, in May 2024 citing slower than anticipated demand.
Virgin Atlantic axes only China route
