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Investing.com -- Air France-KLM’s CEO Ben Smith highlighted on Monday that western Europe-based airlines need more favorable regulations as they face competitive disadvantages from having to avoid Russian airspace.
In a joint interview with Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and French newspaper Les Echos, Smith explained that bypassing Russian airspace adds between two and two-and-a-half hours to flights between Europe and Asia.
"All costs arising from the additional flight time must be borne. Furthermore, customers do not necessarily want to spend two extra hours on an already long flight to Asia," Smith said, noting that Chinese airlines don’t face the same detour requirements.
Smith characterized the faster access to European markets enjoyed by Chinese carriers as a "gift" while western airlines struggle with competitive disadvantages.
During the interview, both Smith and Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr expressed support for a U.S. government proposal that would block access to American airspace for any airline continuing to use Russia’s airspace.
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