Airlines are expanding their international networks as the world’s borders slowly open after nearly 2 years of uncertainty — here are 13 high-profile long-haul routes coming in 2022

  • Date: 01-Jan-2022
  • Source: Business Insider
  • Sector:Tourism
  • Country:Middle East
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Airlines are expanding their international networks as the world’s borders slowly open after nearly 2 years of uncertainty — here are 13 high-profile long-haul routes coming in 2022

The airline industry has been on a rollercoaster ride of uncertainty as the pandemic continues into 2022, but that is not stopping airlines from expanding their international networks. Since the summer, the demand for air travel has been booming as many people finally feel comfortable flying on aircraft again. With the surge, the big three carriers in the US, including , , and , as well as foreign carriers, have been eager to bring back their long-haul markets and have announced a plethora of new international routes. However, the rise of the Omicron variant has added some uncertainty to the equation. , a credit rating agency, lowered its projected global air traffic from 15% below 2019 levels to 30%, citing "slow rebound in international traffic and constrained business travel." Nevertheless, some airlines do not believe the new variant will impact the launch of the new international service. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told reporters in early December that the company is seeing some cancellations, but it is "too early to tell." Regardless, he said he is optimistic about future demand, saying he does not think bookings will decrease as much as they did for the Delta variant, . Meanwhile, when