Did you know that some of the world’s largest and most well-known airlines have no domestic market
at all? This, of course, is a result of political geography and the borders a country is defined
by. This has become much more important and relevant with the current health crisis as
international travel restrictions cripple airlines without any domestic networks.
While there are quite a few countries with no domestic flights,
let’s take a look at some of the higher-profile cases, separated by region.
Europe KLM (usually)
has a robust international network, flying to destinations in the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
However, the airline and its home country lack a domestic flight network
(excluding its overseas territories, which fall outside of the Schengen area).
This is largely due to the country’s size, but also its fantastic rail network.
Similarly, Belgium’s small size and well functioning rail network ensure the country’s
main towns and cities are connected with one another. The country’s main carrier,
Brussels Airlines, is a smaller member of the Lufthansa Group and flies regional European
service, but also travels as far as the United States, Israel, and a number of African countries.
Other European countries without domestic services include the tiny states of Luxembourg,
Lichtenstein, and Andorra. There are some surprises, however.
Relatively small countries like Latvia, Estonia, and Switzerland do offer some domestic flights.
The Middle East This region has quite a few
countries that lack a domestic flight network. At the same time, these nations have certainly
made a name for themselves, crafting world-class airlines with diverse and far-reaching networks.
Although Qatar Airways may have one of the world’s largest airline networks, the country of Qatar is
too small to have any domestic flights. The same goes for nearby Kuwait, and neighboring Bahrain.
The UAE is another good example of a country having world-class airlines without any domestic
flights. The UAE is divided up into emirates, with the largest of these having their own airlines.
Emirates (the airline) flies out of Dubai while Abu Dhabi is served by Etihad.
Air Arabia serves the emirates of Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah,
while Spicejet is looking to expand its operations in the latter as well.
Asia has two great examples of states with world-class airlines with no domestic flights.
Of course, it gets a little complicated and perhaps even touchy, calling Hong Kong
a state. Technically, Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) and certainly has
done a good job of riding the fine line between an independent country and being part China.
Since most here speak Cantonese instead of Mandarin, use the Hong Kong dollar,
and have a separate passport, it is functionally quite distinct from China for the time being.
Therefore, flights to China are treated as international,
meaning that Hong Kong has no truly domestic flights.
Singapore is our final example. Often regarded as one of the best airlines in the world,
Singapore Airlines also runs one of the longest flights in the world – taking
passengers from Singapore to New York on an ultra-long-range version of the A350-900.
The country itself is essentially a city-state on a small island. Singapore Changi is the main
airport and home to Singapore Airlines. The country does have another facility known as
Seletar Airport- but as these two are about 20km apart, there aren’t any domestic services.
As there are many small nations out there, this list could indeed go on further.
Usually quite a mundane topic, this has been made much more interesting with the events of 2020,
which continue to unfold. The worst part of international
travel restrictions, especially for carriers like Emirates and Singapore Airlines, has been
the suspension of transfer/transit traffic – something that these airlines greatly rely on.
Has your home airline suffered due to a lack of domestic flights? Let us know in the comments.