There were rumors last week that both Finland and the United Kingdom would send official delegations to China. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has already arrived, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer may also visit. This has sparked fresh speculation: could the long-suspended London–Beijing and Helsinki–Beijing routes finally return?
British Airways is one of the world’s major airlines and a core member of the IAG Group. The airline began operating Hong Kong–Beijing flights as early as 1980 and launched nonstop London–Beijing services in 1993. After the pandemic, the route was moved from Beijing Capital Airport to Beijing Daxing Airport. However, unable to use Russian airspace—and facing sharply higher costs from detours—British Airways suspended the route in October 2024. At the time, the airline pointed to a potential restart in November 2025, which has not materialized.
Finnair was the first Western European airline to operate nonstop flights to Beijing, launching the route in June 1988. For the same airspace reasons, it has also suspended its Beijing service. That said, Finnair continues to fly to Tokyo via a lengthy detour over the Bering Strait—a routing that has drawn wide attention in the industry.
Even so, neither Finnair nor British Airways is likely to resume Beijing services simply because of official visits. Both airlines are commercially driven, and without clear economic incentives, neither would operate a loss-making route. With the Russian airspace issue still unresolved, there is no solid basis for a restart.
While Finnair and British Airways no longer serve Beijing, both continue to operate flights to Shanghai. Meanwhile, several Chinese airlines currently fly to London and Helsinki and are able to use Russian airspace. As a result, high-level visits have no direct link to the potential restoration of Beijing routes.
