Korean Air extends suspension of Russian routes over safety concerns

Passenger jets of Korean Air are parked at Incheon International Airport, in this file photo. Yonhap

Korean national flag carrier Korean Air Lines said Wednesday it will extend the suspension of its Russian routes until any new positive development happens in the Russia-Ukraine war.

In March, Korean Air said it will halt the operation of passenger jets to Moscow and Vladivostok, and cargo planes that are bound for Europe via Moscow until the end of April due to safety concerns over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"The company will be closely monitoring the situation before it decides to resume flights on routes to Russia," a company spokeswoman said over the phone.

The carrier said flights on some routes from Incheon to Europe and the United States currently take a detour to avoid the Russian and Ukraine airspace.

Affected routes include the routes to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Boston and Toronto. Flights to the cities take up to three hours longer.

Asiana, the country's second-biggest airline after Korean Air, didn't operate passenger jets to Russia even before the pandemic hit the airline industry two years ago.

Its cargo planes currently take a detour around Russian airspace. (Yonhap)

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