Chinese airlines are continuing their expansion across Europe for the summer 2026 season, adding new routes and capacity as geopolitical factors reshape competitive dynamics on Asia-Europe corridors.
China Eastern Airlines is among the latest to outline growth, with plans to launch a 3X-weekly Shanghai Pudong-Zurich service from June 18, operated with Airbus A350-900 equipment. The route, which had previously been planned for 2025 but not launched, will add capacity on a city pair currently served only by Swiss. China Eastern also launched a Shanghai-Geneva service in 2025.
The move comes as Zurich’s connectivity to mainland China remains limited compared with pre-pandemic levels. Before 2020, the airport was linked to three Chinese gateways, including Beijing and Shenzhen, but today Shanghai is the sole mainland destination with scheduled service.
Sabre Market Intelligence data shows demand is growing, with Switzerland-China traffic reaching about 345,000 two-way passengers in 2025, up 17.8% year on year. Zurich-Shanghai was the largest city pair during the year, accounting for approximately 92,300 passengers.
China Eastern’s Zurich launch comes after the airline this month announced plans to resume Shanghai-Stockholm service in June after a six-year hiatus, while earlier this year it confirmed plans to begin flights between Routes Asia 2026 host Xi’an and Vienna. These additions will further expand its European footprint, which already spans more than a dozen destinations from Shanghai alone.
Across the market, Chinese carriers are collectively increasing their presence. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows China Eastern will operate 20 China-Europe routes during summer 2026, excluding Russia, offering about 1.9 million two-way seats—up from 1.58 million a year earlier. The airline is expected to hold a 15.8% share of capacity on the market, behind Air China.
Other Chinese operators are also expanding. China Southern Airlines is launching Beijing Daxing-Helsinki service, while Air China is adding new daily routes from Beijing Daxing to Frankfurt and Milan Malpensa. The Frankfurt service begins on April 28, while Milan Malpensa flights start on June 13.
The expansion reflects a continuation of structural advantages that have favored Chinese carriers since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While European airlines remain barred from Russian airspace and must operate longer routings to Asia, Chinese airlines retain access to more direct flightpaths, reducing both flight times and operating costs.
As a result, Chinese carriers now control about 83% of China-Europe capacity excluding Russia, up from roughly two-thirds in 2019, according to OAG data. Overall, there will be around 12.1 million two-way China-Europe seats (excluding Russia) in summer 2026, up from 10.4 million a year ago.
Additionally, the escalating conflict involving Iran, Israel and U.S.-aligned states in the Gulf is also disrupting airspace and constraining operations at key Middle Eastern hubs, historically critical for one-stop connectivity between Europe and Asia.
Airspace closures, missile and drone activity, and direct impacts on infrastructure in parts of the Gulf have led to flight cancellations and reduced capacity by major hub carriers. Airlines including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways continue to face operational disruption.
This disruption is limiting one-stop options via the Gulf, especially on flows between Europe and Asia-Pacific, driving a shift toward nonstop routings. This development, combined with continued access to Russian airspace, is strengthening Chinese carriers’ competitive position.
During the 40-day Spring Festival travel period, Chinese airlines carried a record 94 million passengers, up 4.7% year on year, with international traffic rising 5.8%, according to an HSBC report published on March 18. However, the report warns that surging fuel prices following the escalation in the Middle East are likely to compress margins across the sector.
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