'10 times the price': 7 alternate flight routes to get you to Europe and back

Dr Oleksandra Molloy was in Europe when news of the escalating situation in Iran broke.

She had been travelling home via Qatar with Qatar Airways but was forced to change her plans.

Dr Molloy, an expert in aviation at the University of New South Wales, had a distinct advantage when rebooking her flight.

As panic set in across airports Dr Molloy managed to rebook her flight via London and Singapore with Qantas.

"I was familiar with that route," she said.

However, she acknowledged finding alternative flights was difficult, with many fully booked and others dramatically more expensive.

"Some flights were reaching almost ten times the original price," she said.

Dr Molloy said travellers should not panic and should consider multiple booking options.

"Be proactive," she said. "If you're not getting a response from airlines, look for alternative routes."

She also warned passengers to check flight updates, allow extra time for connections and ensure they have travel insurance or flexible tickets in case schedules change.

Three major airports that connect Europe and Africa to Australia and Asia - Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi - have stopped operations.

While some flights are slowly resuming, professor of aviation at Edith Cowan University, Gui Lohmann, told Explore that losing access to one of the most important aviation hubs between Europe and Asia/Oceania is driving up airfares.

Higher fuel costs are also contributing to the surge, with airfares skyrocketing and some social media users complaining of price gouging.

Professor Lohmann said Qantas still operated direct flights from Perth to London and Paris, as well as seasonal services to Rome as a way of travelling to Europe and bypassing the Middle East.

Another option for travellers is flying with Asian carriers.

"Chinese airlines currently have an advantage because of the situation in Russia," he said.

"Russia has closed its airspace to most European airlines in retaliation for the war in Ukraine. China has not imposed the same restrictions, meaning Chinese carriers can fly over Russia, which provides a more direct route between Asia and Europe."

He said other Asian airlines, including Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, face longer routes due to limited available airspace.

"There is only a narrow corridor through the Caucasus region, flying over Armenia, Georgia and Uzbekistan, south of Ukraine and north of Iran," he said.

"The other alternative is to fly over Saudi Arabia, which is a longer route."

The majority of Europe-to-Australian flight connections operate via Asian hubs including Singapore, Hong Kong and other major regional airports, with these routes continuing to operate normally, according to Flight Centre Travel Group.