50 New Routes Starting In November 2025

Etihad Airways is among the most active carriers this month, launching five new destinations—Algiers, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, Hong Kong and Tunis—and resuming flights to Medina, last served in March 2023.

The additions mark the airline’s largest single-month expansion in recent years and build on its network diversification strategy, which focuses on restoring links across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. All of the new routes except Hong Kong will be operated by Airbus A321LR aircraft, allowing the carrier to unlock underserved medium-haul markets with lower demand.

The first of the new routes launched on Nov. 1, connecting Abu Dhabi with Tunis, followed by flights to Chiang Mai, Hanoi and Hong Kong on Nov. 3, Algiers on Nov. 7 and Medina on Nov. 9. Etihad also plans to add a new Russian destination before the end of the year, with service to Kazan scheduled to begin in December.

In China, China Eastern Airlines is set to resume its Shanghai Pudong-New Delhi route on Nov. 9 after a five-year suspension. The service will initially operate three times per week with A330-200 aircraft, rising to 5X-weekly from the start of January 2026. The relaunch revives one of China Eastern’s two pre-pandemic India routes, which included 6X-weekly flights between Shanghai and New Delhi and 8X-weekly roundtrips between Kunming and Kolkata.

The move sees the Shanghai-based carrier become the first Chinese airline to return to India since before the COVID-19 pandemic and the deterioration of China-India bilateral relations after the June 2020 Galwan Valley clashes, which left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead. IndiGo resumed daily flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from Oct. 26 and will commence a New Delhi-Guangzhou service from Nov. 10.

Additionally, IndiGo plans to introduce a second link to Manchester following the launch of flights from Mumbai in July. Service to the UK airport from New Delhi begins on Nov. 15, operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft damp-leased from Norse Atlantic Airways. Sabre Market Intelligence data show Manchester-India traffic exceeded 300,000 two-way passengers in 2024, led by Mumbai, Kochi and then New Delhi.

Other notable launches in November include Hainan Airlines’ expansion in Europe with new nonstop service between Chongqing, China, and Brussels Airport, which will become the carrier’s fourth route to the Belgian capital. The 3X-weekly flights, operated by 787-9 aircraft, begin Nov. 22 and join existing services from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The addition further consolidates Hainan’s position in the China-Europe market at a time when access to Russian airspace continues to provide Chinese airlines with shorter, more fuel-efficient routings than their European competitors.

Elsewhere, Wizz Air is resuming flights to Abu Dhabi just over two months after winding down its UAE-based joint venture as part of a network realignment toward core European operations. Wizz Air Hungary will launch flights from Larnaca, Cyprus, on Nov. 15 and from Sofia, Bulgaria, on Nov. 17.

The Larnaca route will operate four times per week using A321ceo aircraft, while the Sofia service will run three 3X-weekly with A321neos. Both routes were previously served by the now-defunct Wizz Air Abu Dhabi AOC, which ceased operations on Sept