“The massive concentration of global traffic flows via the Gulf hubs is increasingly proving to be a geopolitical Achilles’ heel,” said Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr during a press conference late last week.

The airline company reported an uptick in demand for its intercontinental routes as the Middle East conflict spread. Flights will be added on several routes to Asia and Africa in the near future as a direct result of the crisis, with plans to grow long-haul capacity by 6% year over year in 2026.

“We are offering special flights and want to improve frequency on routes to Singapore, Bangkok and India,” said Spohr, “while demand for destinations in China and South Africa has also grown significantly in the last five days.”

Spohr said bookings to Asia for the month of April are up at this point by 75% compared with last year, pointing to a longer-term shift in travel demand as perceptions of safety in the Gulf region suffer.

Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and ITA Airways, reported a 5% year-over-year increase in total revenue to 39.6 billion euros (about $45.5 billion) and an operating profit of 2 billion euros (about $2.3 billion), up from 1.6 billion euros (about $1.9 billion) a year earlier.

Despite geopolitical uncertainty, the group expects to increase total capacity by around 4% in 2026 with a clear focus on intercontinental routes, according to executives.