In October 2026, airlines will introduce 50 new flight routes across Europe and global markets, beginning with the northern winter 2026-27 season.
Finnair Opens Asia-Pacific Service via Bangkok
Finnair will start daily flights between Helsinki Airport and Melbourne Airport via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on October 25, 2026, using Airbus A350 aircraft. Return service from Melbourne begins October 26. Finnair has fifth-freedom rights on the Bangkok-Melbourne sector.
Passengers can connect through Helsinki to approximately 90 destinations within Finnair’s European network. Finnair joins Turkish Airlines and British Airways, which returns to Melbourne in January 2027, as European airlines operating directly to Australia with their own aircraft.
Western Sydney International Airport Debuts Passenger Flights
Western Sydney
International Airport (WSI) will have its first passenger departure on October 25. Jetstar will operate the inaugural flight to Gold Coast Airport.
Jetstar’s WSI network offers up to 14 weekly flights to Melbourne, 4 weekly to Gold Coast, and 3 weekly to Brisbane, all using A320 aircraft. On October 26, Air New Zealand will launch three weekly Auckland-WSI flights using A320 and A321 aircraft, while maintaining its Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport operations.
Etihad Expands Middle East and North American Routes
Etihad Airways will operate weekly flights from Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Airport starting October 4 with A320 aircraft, increasing to twice weekly from October
25. This is Etihad’s sixth destination in Saudi Arabia.
Etihad will also start four weekly Abu Dhabi-Luxembourg flights with A321neo-family aircraft, becoming the first Middle Eastern airline to serve Luxembourg.
From October 25, Etihad will launch four weekly nonstop flights between Abu Dhabi and Calgary International Airport using Boeing 787-9 aircraft, the first direct link between the Middle East and Western Canada. The Canada-UAE air services agreement expansion in December 2025 increased passenger frequencies to 35 weekly per country.
European and North American Long-Haul Flights Resume or Begin
Lufthansa will resume five weekly year-round flights from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur starting October 25 using 287-seat Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Swiss
International Air Lines will introduce five weekly Zurich-Bengaluru flights at winter season start; Bengaluru is Swiss’ third Indian destination.
British Airways will return to Sri Lanka with three weekly London Gatwick-Colombo flights starting October 23 using Boeing 777 aircraft. Sabre Market Intelligence recorded approximately 452,000 two-way UK-Sri Lanka passengers in 2025.
United Airlines will restore daily Chicago O’Hare-Tokyo Narita flights on October 24 with Boeing 787-8 aircraft. American Airlines plans daily Chicago-Tokyo Narita flights starting March 27, 2027 with 787-9 aircraft.
Air Canada will start two North America-Canary Islands routes in October with A321XLR aircraft: 2 weekly Toronto Pearson-Tenerife South
flights from October 25 and weekly Montreal-Tenerife South flights from October 31.
Delta Air Lines will launch daily Atlanta-Riyadh flights on October 23 using Airbus A350-900 aircraft, the first nonstop U.S.-Riyadh service by a U.S. airline.
