Flights between Europe and Asia now regularly add one to three hours compared to before 2022. This is not a schedule change — airlines are flying longer paths to go around airspace they used to cross directly.
In early 2022, Western airlines lost access to Russian airspace. This closed off the fast northern path — the route that used to take flights from Northern Europe straight over Siberia to Japan and northeast Asia in about 11 hours. Those flights now have to go south, adding time.
At the same time, European flight safety authorities raised warnings about airspace over Iran and Iraq. Most European airlines changed their routes to avoid that area too. The result: longer paths, more time in the air, and — depending on which route your airline chose — different flight warning areas to deal with.
Via Turkey (Istanbul)
The least extra time — typically 20 to 45 minutes more than pre-2022 flights from Europe to Southeast Asia. Goes east through Turkish airspace, staying away from the warning area on both parts of the flight.
Via the Gulf (Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi)
Typically adds 45 to 90 minutes on European-to-Southeast Asia routes. Goes further south, which adds distance. The Europe-to-Gulf part of the flight also goes through the active warning area.
Via East Asia (Hong Kong, Seoul)
Adds two or more hours on most Europe-to-Southeast Asia trips. Goes east, avoiding the Middle East warning area entirely. The airspace is the cleanest of the three options, but the trip is much longer.
FlightDetour shows the extra trip length as part of each route's score — so you can see how much longer a route is, alongside whether it goes through a warning area.
How much time is added depends on two things: your specific city pair, and which route your airline takes. Flights that used to go over Russia — especially from Northern Europe to Japan and South Korea — gained the most time from the Russia closure. Flights to Southeast Asia were more affected by the Middle East changes.
Even for the same city pair, the route matters. On London to Bangkok, the flight via Istanbul and the flight via Dubai have different trip times and different warning areas. The Istanbul option typically adds less total time while staying away from the warning area on both parts of the flight.
These trips show the time difference between routes most clearly.