Lufthansa adds flights to Cape Town, Singapore and Riyadh to grab long-haul demand

Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it’s adding flights to Asia and Africa amid increased long-haul demand, as customers seek alternatives to Middle East carriers like Emirates or Qatar Airways hamstrung by air-space closures at home.

Lufthansa will add flights at short notice from Germany to Singapore, Cape Town and Riyadh, it said on Tuesday in a statement.

Its Austrian Airlines subsidiary has already arranged 10 special return flights from Vienna to Bangkok, the company added.

The move follows British Airways, which has added flights from London to Singapore and Bangkok this week.

Air France-KLM has meanwhile deployed bigger jets on flights from a number of cities in Asia including Tokyo, Shanghai and Mumbai in response to increased demand and flight cancellations by Middle Eastern airlines.

The dislocations caused by the war in Iran and the ensuing air-space disruptions are providing European airlines with a rare chance to claw back some business