Unlike many carriers elsewhere, Australian airlines aren't banned from flying over Russia. It's instead a precautionary move by Qantas, and one that adds around an hour to the flight time in each direction – depending on wind and other factors.
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While U.S., European and Japanese carriers have stopped flying over Russia, Air India and some Gulf-based and Chinese airlines continue to do so, making flying times shorter and giving them a cost edge over competitors.
“Singapore Airlines does not traverse the Ukraine airspace or fly near the Russian-Ukrainian border region, and following the suspension of services to Russia, Singapore Airlines flights do not traverse Russian airspace,” a spokesman for SIA said.
United, British Airways, and Finnair are all avoiding the area. Russia's airspace is closed to many global airlines, forcing carriers to detour around the nation. Routes to and from Asia are up to four hours longer.
Yes, planes can fly over the North Pole. Many flights from North America to Europe and North America to Asia, and vice versa, cross the North Pole in an effort to cut flight time and save fuel.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand [CAAT] has also confirmed that no Thai carriers are using Ukrainian airspace, he added. Currently, only Thai Airways (THAI) is operating flights from Thailand to Europe and none of its seven routes passes over Ukraine.