The flight market between China and Europe is undergoing a fundamental change that is of great importance to both European airlines and the EU Commission. The current trend shows that Chinese airlines have gained a significant competitive advantage by using more direct routes via Russia, while European competitors are suffering under the conditions of longer flight routes. These developments have prompted the EU Commission to examine the impact on competition and possible regulatory measures. Since the Corona pandemic, the balance of international air traffic has shifted. While European airlines are struggling with challenges in China, Chinese airlines are experiencing an upswing in the European market. According to Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa, the margins for European airlines in the Far East business are "not that great". Lufthansa has only been able to increase its capacity on the China routes to 57 percent of the pre-crisis level. Another example is British Airways, which is suspending its flights to Beijing for a year. In contrast, Chinese airlines such as Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have significantly expanded their offerings to Europe. This expansion has led to price pressure on the market and increased competition. The large Chinese airlines increasingly dominate the market, with market shares of up to 75 percent on individual routes. The influence of the Russian overflight ban A key factor in this market development is the Russian overflight ban for European airlines, which has been in place since the Russian aggression against Ukraine. This ban forces European airlines to choose longer flight routes, which significantly increases operating costs. KLM CEO Marjam Rintel put the figure at