SIA boosts Europe flight frequencies, returns to Madrid amid strong travel demand

[SINGAPORE] Singapore Airlines (SIA) is ramping up its flights to Europe, even as it pulls back on its services to the Middle East.

Over the last two months, the national carrier has increased its weekly flights to Europe by 11.9 per cent. As at end-April, the airline had 226 flights to Europe, up from 202 flights as at end-February, it said in response to queries from The Business Times.

SIA is also progressively increasing its flight frequencies to key European cities to cater to “strong demand”, it said in a press statement on Friday (May 8).

These changes include:

• Increasing flights between Singapore and Manchester, from five times a week to daily from Jul 13.
• Increasing flights from Singapore to London Gatwick Airport, from thrice a week to daily from Oct 25.
• Increasing flights from Singapore to Milan, from four times a week to every day from Oct 25. However, the airline’s thrice-weekly Milan-Barcelona connecting service will be terminated from Oct 27.
• Launching flight services from Singapore to Munich thrice a week from Oct 26.
• Launching a new Barcelona-to-Madrid connecting service from Oct 26. The service, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will run five times a week and will mark SIA’s return to the capital city after a 22-year absence.

More flights despite Gulf conflict

SIA’s overall weekly flights have increased marginally to 2,356 at the end of April, from 2,340 in February, said the airline. The increase comes even as SIA pulls back on its services to the Middle East.

SIA and its budget arm Scoot cancelled services to Dubai and Jeddah from Feb 28 this year, against the onset of the Gulf conflict. SIA also deferred the launch of its Riyadh services from Jun 2 to Sep 1 this year.

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“The difference between the overall network change and the increase in Europe services reflects capacity redeployment across SIA’s network, with increases in selected markets partially offset by adjustments elsewhere, including the suspension of services to Dubai,” said an SIA spokesperson.

In April, Asian airlines reported surging demand on European routes as travellers shied away from disrupted Middle Eastern stopover hubs such as Dubai and Doha. SIA’s share of seats filled on its European flights jumped to 93.5 per cent in March, up from 79.7 per cent a year earlier. This was the sharpest gain among the regions covered by the airline, and was partly due to spillover Europe-bound traffic.

Beyond the European redeployment, SIA will deploy its flagship double-decker Airbus A380 aircraft on one of its Melbourne routes during the northern summer 2026 season, injecting additional capacity to meet strong Australian demand.