Pakistan Airspace Ban Pushes Taiwanese Carriers Back Over Russia

Pakistan has denied Taiwanese airlines access to its airspace, a move reported by Bloomberg on October 28, 2026 — and first traced in practice by aircraft already detouring around the country from October 25. The denial appears to reflect a more assertive implementation of Pakistan's "One China" policy, though what triggered the shift remains unknown.

Pakistan and China have long maintained close diplomatic ties and cooperate across several strategic areas. What changed, and when exactly the ban took legal effect, is not entirely clear. What is clear is the operational consequence: Taiwanese carriers began avoiding Pakistani airspace three days before Bloomberg's report surfaced.

The sudden denial of access also explains an equally unexpected development — the resumption of Russian overflights by Taiwanese carriers.

What changed on October 25?

On the evening of October 25, 2026, China Airlines flight CI75, operated by an Airbus A350-900, tracked on Flightradar24 flying a northerly route through Russian airspace en route to Rome-Fiumicino. The return leg to Taipei-Taoyuan followed the same track. EVA Air has since operated Europe-Taiwan services through Russian airspace as well.

The break with precedent is significant. Taiwanese carriers had avoided Russian airspace for more than four years — but that avoidance was voluntary, adopted after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, not the result of an official ban.

Why Russia is now one of only two options

With Pakistani airspace closed, overflying Russia is one of just two remaining routes for Taiwanese carriers bound for Europe.

The alternative is a long southerly detour. That routing would have to avoid Chinese airspace — from which Taiwanese carriers are also banned — and cross the Middle East, a region that has seen significant airspace disruption over the past year. It would also add a substantial amount of flying time and the related additional fuel burn.

In short: the southerly option costs time and money; the Russian corridor costs Taiwan its four-year stance of voluntary avoidance. The carriers appear to have chosen the corridor.

How does this fit the Europe-Taiwan capacity picture?

These operational shifts land in a market that is quietly growing. Both EVA Air and China Airlines have increased frequencies on their European routes in 2026, and Starlux Airlines launched its first European service, to Prague. Starlux has also announced plans to add new European destinations — Barcelona and Zurich among them — in 2027.

That expansion now depends on routings that are hostage to geopolitics on two flanks. A closure or further restriction on either the Russian corridor or the Middle East would squeeze an already narrow set of options.

For now, the A350s keep flying north. Whether Pakistan's ban hardens into a lasting arrangement — and whether Moscow reciprocates with continued access — will shape the economics of every Europe-Taiwan frequency the three carriers have planned through 2027.