This week’s long-haul flight schedule changes from Europe: What you need to know
November 30, 2025
Aerospace Global News takes a look at some of the long-haul route changes to and from Europe each week, all of which are subject to change.
This week, very few changes were added to schedules, but there are some interesting developments. The North Atlantic saw a plethora of new routes, including Iberia’s new daily flights from Madrid to Newark from summer 2026.
Meanwhile, in Asia, Chinese airlines continued their push into Europe. Slight frequency expansion was seen on a handful of routes to Europe, while some summer seasonal services will start earlier next year than they did this year.
Read last week’s schedule update here.
This week’s schedule changes
Using data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, the below is a non-exhaustive list of developments this week. For readability purposes, adjustments that extend to a large part or the entirety of the 2026 summer season have been listed as ‘S26’.
Long-haul is defined as flights over 3,000 miles, meaning not all Europe to non-Europe flights are included, but only those that meet the threshold.
The sample was selected based on relevance and market trends, and does not include smaller changes such as minor aircraft changes with a limited impact on capacity. As always, schedules are subject to change. And, as we have seen in previous editions, they do.
North Atlantic
- Finnair brings forward seasonal Helsinki to Seattle suspension next winter to end of September. Last flight outbound 28 September, previously 19 October.
- Air Canada adds new transatlantic routes from Montreal to Berlin and Nantes; Toronto to Ponta Delgada; and Halifax to Brussels. Montreal to Tel Aviv service also resuming.
- Iberia adds daily flights from Madrid to Newark as of S26 with an A321XLR.
South Atlantic
- Neos adds one weekly flight between Milan Malpensa and Cartagena from S26.
Africa
No changes
Asia
- China Southern Airlines brings forward 3x weekly flights seasonal resumption between London Gatwick and Guangzhou to the end of March 2026 instead of mid-June like this year. It typically suspends the route from early January until S26.
- China Southern increases frequencies on Istanbul to Beijing flights from 3x to 4x weekly for S26.
- China Eastern Airlines has filed the resumption of its seasonal Istanbul to Xian flights, which began this year at the end of June. During S26, flights will begin in March with 1x weekly service.
- China Eastern Airlines adds 1x weekly frequency to its Venice to Shanghai flights for S26, now totalling 5.
- Juneyao Air adds 1x weekly frequency to flights from Helsinki and Athens to Shanghai for S26, reaching 5 for both.
- Air France reduces Paris to Mumbai and Delhi flights from daily to 5x weekly each during April and May 2026.
Middle East
- Neos introduces 1x weekly flight between Milan Malpensa and Muscat for S26.
Iberia adds new Newark connection
Iberia’s new daily flights between Madrid and Newark will complement its existing network to New York-JFK. It signifies both increased demand for flights to the Big Apple and hints at limited slot availability at JFK, where it already operates.
Indeed, operating to two gateways is more costly for airlines. It requires additional resources on the ground and is often avoided. However, there are exceptions – especially when slot constraints are a factor.
Iberia will use a relatively low-risk Airbus A321XLR for the new route, joining three other US destinations that see the aircraft type according to schedules for next summer. This includes San Juan, Washington and Boston.
China Southern resumes London Gatwick-Guangzhou earlier than planned
Perhaps a similar situation at China Southern in terms of slot availability as it resumes its 3x weekly flights between London Gatwick to Guangzhou earlier than usual for S26. The route, which was introduced in June 2024, complements a daily operation to London Heathrow.
Rather than increase its London Heathrow route, it added flights to Gatwick. Once again, that points to possible challenges in obtaining additional slots at Heathrow, combined with higher demand.
It is also worth noting that Europe’s airlines have reduced their presence to China considerably following the Ukraine-Russia war, limiting airspace access. Chinese carriers, on the other hand, continue to overfly Russia, reducing flight times and ensuring a competitive operation.
Using 2024 information from the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Cirium capacity data, loads seem to have been reasonable on its Guangzhou connection from both its London gateways.
China Southern’s Guangzhou to London traffic (2024)
| Airport | Passengers carried | Seats offered | Load factor |
| London Heathrow (LHR) | 183,143 | 205,382 | 89.19% |
| London Gatwick (LGW) | 29,661 | 33,754 | 87.88% |
This says little about yields, but it does demonstrate the airline’s ability to fill its planes. It flew a Boeing 787-9 to Heathrow and a mix of 787-8 and -9 equipment to Gatwick in 2024. This is also true in 2025.
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Featured image: Airbus
