British Airways announces major winter 2026 expansion

• The airline's long-haul route network is set to grow by nine per cent*
• Increased service from key U.S. destinations including Baltimore, Houston and New Orleans
• New destinations from London include Melbourne in Australia and Colombo in Sri Lanka
• In response to the Middle East conflict, the airline also added additional flights to Bangkok and Singapore 
• There is a boost to winter capacity in popular leisure markets across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean 

NEW YORK, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- British Airways has announced a significant planned expansion to its network for winter 2026, increasing its long-haul flying by nine per cent* as the airline continues to invest in new destinations and increased services for customers worldwide. 

The expanded schedule includes two new long-haul destinations - Melbourne, Australia and Colombo, Sri Lanka - alongside additional flights from several U.S. cities and increased service across key leisure destinations in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. 

These planned new routes and frequency growth for winter 2026 is in addition to short-term capacity increases to destinations to meet customer demand, as a result of the situation in the Middle East. British Airways added seven extra return services to Bangkok and Singapore in the last week and will continue to review its schedule and add additional flights to destinations as needed. 

The growth reinforces British Airways' role as a leading global airline connecting North America with Europe and destinations around the world via its London hub. 

Neil Chernoff, British Airways' Chief Planning and Strategy Officer, said: "We're delighted to announce sizable growth to our flying schedule for winter 2026, including two notable new destinations, that I am confident will prove popular with our customers. We're also increasing services across several high-demand routes around the world. Together, these changes represent a significant investment in our long-haul leisure network, adding even more options and choice for our customers. 

"Elsewhere, we know there is short-term demand as a result of the situation in the Middle East. To support customers with alternative routes from popular destinations we have already launched additional flights, and we will continue to monitor customer demand and add flights to our schedule if we're able to do so." 

Increased service from the United States 

As part of the expanded schedule, British Airways will increase flights from key U.S. destinations: 

• Baltimore will increase to a daily service to London Heathrow for winter 2026, complementing the existing daily summer service
• New Orleans will increase to four flights per week to London Heathrow
• Houston will increase to 12 flights per week to London Heathrow  

The additional flights will provide greater flexibility for customers traveling between the U.S., London and British Airways' global network. 

New destination: Melbourne, Australia  

British Airways will commence flights to Melbourne in Australia from 9 January 2027, launching in time for the Australian Open and the Melbourne Grand Prix. Flights will operate year-round from London Heathrow, via Kuala Lumpur, on a daily basis.  

Customers have a choice of four cabins – World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy), Club World (business class) and First. 

New winter route: Colombo, Sri Lanka 

Launching on 23 October 2026, British Airways will fly three times per week from London Gatwick to Colombo, the vibrant gateway to Sri Lanka.  

The route will operate for the winter season only, and customers have a choice of three cabins – World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and Club World (business class). 

Frequency growth 

In a significant expansion to the current schedule, the airline is increasing frequencies across several of its popular routes. 

In the Caribbean, British Airways will also introduce a new daily winter service from Barbados to London Gatwick, complementing the airline's existing Heathrow service and providing onward tag flights to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago. 

Additionally, the airline's St. Lucia service becomes daily non-stop to London Gatwick from 25 October, further expanding travel options to and from the Caribbean. 

Other schedule changes include: 

• A third daily flight from London Heathrow to Cape Town, South Africa, will start in December 
• London Heathrow to Haneda in Tokyo, Japan increases to double daily from the end of March, and continues throughout the winter schedule 
• San José in Costa Rica increases to five per week, and moves to London Heathrow
• Kingston in Jamaica and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, both served from London Gatwick, will go up to four per week 
• Delhi continues to be served three times a day, as the frequency growth introduced at the start of the summer season remains in place 
• London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi will return for its planned winter schedule, operating daily from 25 October 

Short term capacity 

In addition to the planned growth for winter 2026, British Airways has also introduced seven additional return services from London to Bangkok and Singapore over recent weeks, to meet rising demand for these routes as a result of the situation in the Middle East. 

The airline has added more than 3,300 extra seats between 10 and 19 March for customers travelling to and from these destinations and continues to monitor its network closely to make adjustments based on where customers want to fly. 

British Airways has extended the temporary reduction in flights to the region, with flights to Amman, Bahrain, Dubai and Tel Aviv cancelled up to and including 31 May, and flights to Doha cancelled until 30 April. 

Continued investment in global connectivity 

The expanded winter 2026 schedule represents one of British Airways' largest seasonal network increases in recent years. 

By adding new destinations and increasing service on high-demand routes, the airline is continuing to strengthen its global network and provide customers with greater connectivity through London to destinations across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. 

Tickets for the new routes and expanded services are on sale at ba.com from March 17 2026. 

*Nine per cent increase based on the number of long-haul flights operated by British Airways from London in the winter 2026 schedule, vs winter 2025.  

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SOURCE British Airways