When business travel plans shift, having reliable alternatives matters. For many organisations, avoiding routings through the Middle East has become a priority whether due to risk management policies, traveller preference, or operational considerations.
In fact, our recent SME Travel Survey revealed that more than a quarter of businesses are actively avoiding certain regions or routes, with 55% now less willing to send their employees to the Middle East.
The good news is that there are still plenty of efficient, comfortable and well connected options to keep your people moving seamlessly across the globe. For businesses travelling from Ireland, direct flights into major UK hubs such as London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester also make it easy to connect onward to long haul services without relying on Middle Eastern transit points. Frequent short haul services from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast create flexible same day connections to destinations across Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Here’s a closer look at smart rerouting strategies that maintain productivity without compromising on traveller experience.
Rethinking routes without compromising results
When your people travel for business, their safety, comfort and confidence in every journey is paramount. Avoiding specific regions doesn’t have to mean longer, more complex trips. With the right planning, itineraries can remain streamlined, with direct services and well timed connections ensuring minimal disruption.
For Irish based travellers, routing via the UK can also offer additional flexibility and access to a wider range of long haul carriers and departure times. Short flights into Heathrow, Gatwick or Manchester can often connect smoothly onto onward international services, helping keep journey times efficient while expanding route choice.
Direct access to India
India remains one of the easiest regions to access directly from the UK without relying on Middle Eastern hubs.
British Airways offers extensive non stop services from London Heathrow to key cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. Virgin Atlantic complements this with direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Air India adds further flexibility, operating from multiple UK airports:
London Heathrow to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru
London Gatwick to Ahmedabad and Amritsar
Birmingham to Delhi and Amritsar
For Irish travellers, regular connections into these UK airports from Dublin, Cork and Shannon make these routings straightforward and practical for both business and regional travel needs.
These options provide strong coverage across both business and regional destinations, all without the need for transit stops.
China and Hong Kong
For travel into China, British Airways maintains direct routes from London Heathrow to both Beijing and Shanghai, ideal for keeping journey times predictable.
Hong Kong is equally well served, with both Cathay Pacific and British Airways offering direct flights from Heathrow. Cathay Pacific also operates from Manchester, opening up convenient options for travellers outside London and for those connecting from Ireland into Northern UK hubs.
Southeast Asia and the Far East
Southeast Asia is highly accessible via direct long haul services and strategic hub connections.
Virgin Atlantic operates direct routes to Seoul and Phuket from London Heathrow, offering straightforward access to key markets and regional hubs.
Singapore Airlines stands out as a major gateway carrier, with direct flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester into Singapore. From there, travellers can easily connect onward to Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and beyond.
Similarly:
Malaysia Airlines offers direct flights to Kuala Lumpur
Thai Airways operates direct services to Bangkok
Both provide extensive onward connectivity across Asia, often with smooth transfer experiences and strong service standards. Irish travellers can also benefit from convenient same day connections into these UK gateways from regional airports across Ireland.
Reaching Australia efficiently
Australia can still be reached comfortably without Middle Eastern stopovers.
Qantas operates a direct flight from London Heathrow to Perth, one of the longest non stop routes in the world, removing the need for transit altogether. For other major cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Qantas offers one stop services via Singapore.
Additional routing options are available through carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways, all of which provide onward connections from their Asian hubs.
For travellers departing Ireland, connecting through Heathrow or Manchester can create efficient one stop itineraries into Australia while avoiding more congested routing options.
Options for New Zealand
New Zealand itineraries typically involve at least one connection, but there are several strong alternatives that avoid the Middle East.
Air New Zealand works in partnership with other global carriers to route passengers via North America or Asia. In addition, airlines like Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways offer reliable one or two stop options into major New Zealand cities.
Irish travellers can access many of these services conveniently via London or Manchester, with strong onward connectivity and regular feeder flights from Ireland.
Leveraging European hub connectivity
For travellers departing from regional UK airports or directly from Ireland, European hubs can unlock even more routing flexibility.
For example:
KLM via Amsterdam
Air France via Paris
Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich
These hubs offer extensive global networks, often with short connection times and frequent departures. They can be particularly useful for building efficient itineraries that avoid congested or restricted airspace.
For Irish businesses, direct services from Dublin and Cork into many of these European hubs provide additional routing options alongside UK connections.
Plan smarter routes with confidence
If your organisation is reviewing travel policies or looking for smarter routing options, Travel Counsellors for Business can help you navigate the alternatives with ease. From tailored itineraries to proactive risk management and 24/7 support, we ensure your people travel with confidence wherever business takes them.
Get in touch with Travel Counsellors for Business today to build a safer, more flexible travel strategy for your team.
