FlightAware data show China Airlines' CI75 to Rome crossed Russia on 24–25 October, reportedly a first for a Taiwanese airliner since 2022. It took 55 minutes longer than its last flight.
Cover image: A China Airlines Airbus A350-900 at Amsterdam Schiphol (file photo) — photo by Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
China Airlines flight CI75 from Taipei Taoyuan to Rome flew through Russian airspace overnight on 24–25 October, tracking data from FlightAware show. The Airbus A350-900 spent about seven hours 40 minutes over Russia by our calculation, on a northern routing Taiwan's airlines abandoned in late February 2022. It took off at 17:15 UTC on 24 October and landed in Rome at 07:32 UTC on 25 October.
Taiwanese outlets including udn and Knews reported on 25 October, in Chinese, that it was the first Taiwanese airliner on a Russian routing in more than four years. It was not quicker: FlightAware logged 14 h 16 min in the air, 55 minutes more than the previous CI75 on the usual southern route. Knews reported that China Airlines had not responded; Taiwan's transport ministry and aviation regulator had posted no statement online by 14:40 UTC.
What do the flight tracks show?
The jet flew north-east over Japan, then north across the Sea of Japan. By our reading of FlightAware's measured positions, it crossed into Russia's Primorsky Krai at about 20:30 UTC, passed over Khabarovsk at 20:59 UTC and was over the Amur region at 21:47 UTC. Measured positions then appear only over Lensk, in Yakutia, from 23:11 to 23:22 UTC, and again from 03:17 UTC over the White Sea. The two gaps, about five hours 20 minutes in all, are FlightAware estimates. The aircraft entered Finland at about 04:07 UTC.
CI76 left Rome at 10:22 UTC on 25 October and flew north over Germany, the Baltic Sea and Finland. Its last measured position, at 13:26 UTC, put it about 12 km inside Russia at 35,000 feet. At our 14:42 UTC check it was still airborne, with only FlightAware estimates beyond that point, and no later CI75 had left Taipei.
Was the northern route faster?
Not this time. Lu Yen-liang, head of the aviation department at Chaoyang University of Technology, said, according to udn, that in winter the southern route often meets strong westerly headwinds and a northern routing can save "40 minutes to an hour" per trip (translated), though Russian overflight fees are relatively high. Knews, working from Flightradar24 mid-flight, estimated it would be about 10 minutes quicker than the 20 October flight.
FlightAware put the distance flown at about 6,640 nautical miles, 9 per cent more than on 20 October. The CI75 flights on 13 and 17 October were airborne for 13 h 16 min and 13 h 23 min.
One flight is a small sample, and winds change daily.
| Flight (take-off, UTC) | Routing | Time airborne | Distance flown |
|---|---|---|---|
| CI75 Taipei–Rome (20 Oct, 16:15) | Southern: South Asia, Caspian, Caucasus, Turkey | 13 h 21 min | 6,089 nm |
| CI75 Taipei–Rome (24 Oct, 17:15) | Northern: Japan, Russia, Finland | 14 h 16 min | 6,639 nm |
| CI61 Taipei–Frankfurt (24 Oct, 17:18) | Southern | 13 h 25 min | 6,202 nm |
| CI76 Rome–Taipei (21 Oct, 09:22) | Southern | 12 h 01 min | 5,898 nm |
| CI76 Rome–Taipei (25 Oct, 10:22) | Northern: Finland, then Russia (measured to 13:26 UTC) | In flight at 14:42 UTC | In flight |
Source: Travel Market News analysis of FlightAware data, 25 October 2026; distances include estimated positions.
Why have Taiwan's airlines avoided Russian airspace?
Taiwan says by choice. Lu, citing a March 2022 transport ministry statement, said Taiwanese carriers stopped crossing Russia from late February 2022 because of the war and safety risks, not a Russian ban. Taiwan's aviation regulator gave the Taiwan FactCheck Center the same reason in March 2022. Knews reported that Taiwan was not among the 36 countries whose airlines Russia barred from 28 February 2022. Reuters, however, described Taiwanese airlines as banned in a May 2025 report.
Lu said any return depends on "approval by the competent authority after a comprehensive assessment" (translated). He noted that EVA Air's Paris and Milan flights the same night stayed on the South Asia route.
Which airlines still fly over Russia?
Carriers from China, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states still do, Al Jazeera reported on 2 September 2026, and Air India relies on it for Delhi–London and Delhi–New York flights. US carriers say the access hands Chinese rivals a cost advantage, the dispute behind their move to block extra Air China flights.
The southern lanes are busy: Azerbaijan, which the 20 October CI75 crossed, handled 695 flights a day at the end of 2025 against 278 before 2022, according to Al Jazeera, with Middle East airspace disruption adding pressure.
Frequently asked questions
Is China Airlines now flying over Russia on all its Europe routes?
There is no sign of that. So far only the Rome service has been tracked on a Russian routing: the return CI76 crossed from Finland into Russia at about 13:26 UTC on 25 October, FlightAware data show. CI61 to Frankfurt, which took off three minutes after CI75, flew the southern route.
Was the flight over Russia faster than the usual route?
No. FlightAware logged 14 hours 16 minutes in the air, against 13 hours 21 minutes for the southern-route flight on 20 October. A Taiwanese academic said a northern routing can save up to an hour in winter, but one flight is a small sample.
Are Taiwanese airlines banned from Russian airspace?
Taiwan says no. Its transport authorities said in March 2022 that its airlines had stopped crossing Russia from late February because of the war, and Knews reported Taiwan was not on Russia's 2022 ban list. A May 2025 Reuters report, however, described Taiwanese airlines as banned.
Which airlines still fly through Russian airspace?
Carriers from China, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states, plus Air India on some routes, according to Al Jazeera; Taiwan's Knews counts about 30 airlines.
Sources
- FlightAware, CAL75 track, 24 October 2026
- FlightAware, CAL76 track, 25 October 2026
- udn, Taiwanese airliner returns to Russian airspace (in Chinese)
- Knews, CI75 returns to Russian airspace (in Chinese)
- Al Jazeera, Can Ukraine's drones shut Russian airspace?
- Taiwan FactCheck Center, Russia rumour check (in Chinese, 2022)
- Reuters via The Financial Express, Asian airlines re-route flights (2025)
