Australia’s Qantas to avoid Russian airspace on London flights

SYDNEY – Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd is opting to use an alternative flight path between Darwin and London that avoids Russian airspace after the invasion of Ukraine, the airline said on Sunday.

“Given the current circumstances and complexities, we’re opting to use one of our alternative flight paths that doesn’t overfly Russia, while we continue to monitor this evolving situation,” it said in a statement.

Flights operated over northern Russia will be routed over the Middle East and southern Europe instead, increasing flight times by about an hour.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)