British Airways Launches 4 Major New Long-Haul Routes: See Full List Now

Published Oct 31, 2026, 11:03 AM EDT Prachi is a London-based journalist with extensive experience in the aviation industry. She has worked for several leading industry publications, covering a broad range of topics. Her expertise lies in aircraft maintenance, emerging technologies, and advanced air mobility. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Journalism, focusing on data journalism and its potential to transform conventional aviation reporting. British Airways, the UK flag carrier and a oneworld member, is one of the world's largest long-haul airlines. It serves more than 200 destinations across 80 countries. According to data from aviation analytics provider Cirium, the airline has scheduled more than 50,000 flights from the UK this winter season, offering over 19 million international seats. Notably, it has added multiple new long-haul destinations, including services to the United States, Costa Rica, and Sri Lanka. In addition, the carrier is set to return to Melbourne in January 2027 after an absence of more than two decades. These Are The New Long-Haul Routes British Airways Has Started Credit: Great Circle Map On October 25, British Airways brought an end to 40 years of operating flights between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Tampa International Airport (TPA). It relocated the service to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and now offers five weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, using its Boeing 787-10. This is the first time Tampa service sees the UK flag carrier’s international First Class cabin. British Airways now joins its UK rival Virgin Atlantic on the route, which currently offers daily flights, although frequencies are scheduled to drop to three or four weekly services from November 7. Notably, this is the first time the Florida airport has had two airlines operating nonstop services from Heathrow. Route Start Date Remarks London Heathrow to Tampa October 25 Switched from London Gatwick; frequency reduced from daily to 5x weekly; aircraft upgrade from Boeing 777-300ER London Heathrow to San Juan October 25 Switched from London Gatwick; Winter seasonal route to year-round; 5x weekly during winter season, but 3x weekly for summer 2027; The first time LHR is seeing Costa Rica flights London Heathrow to Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur January 9, 2027 Returning to the market after more than 20 years London Gatwick to Colombo October 23 Returning after 11 years, it initially operated as a one-stop Similarly, the oneworld member relocated its nonstop flights to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica from Gatwick to Heathrow. It previously operated the route during winter, but the route will now operate year-round. For the current winter season, which runs through March 27, 2027, the airline has increased frequencies to five weekly flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. British Airways Returns To Melbourne After More Than 20 Years Credit: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock Furthermore, Melbourne Airport (MEL) will see the return of British Airways early next year, more than two decades after the airline last served the Australian city via Singapore. From January 9, 2027, the carrier will operate daily flights from London Heathrow to Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), using its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Leg Local Time London Heathrow – Kuala Lumpur BA33: 9:10 PM – 6:05 PM+1 Kuala Lumpur – Melbourne BA33: 7:45 PM – 6:40 AM+1 Melbourne – Kuala Lumpur BA34: 4:35 PM – 9:35 PM Kuala Lumpur – London Heathrow BA34: 11:15 PM – 5:20 AM+1 According to the airline's schedule data available on Cirium, both its 215-seat and 216-seat configurations are scheduled to operate the route. Booking data for the 12 months ending June 2026 suggests that approximately 1.3 million round-trip passengers traveled between Europe and Melbourne. London Heathrow was by far the largest individual airport market, accounting for around 264,000 passengers during the period, or more than 700 daily. Nearly all passengers traveled indirectly, given the lack of nonstop or one-stop services to Victoria. Most connected through the Gulf hubs of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. Singapore was also another major connecting point. British Airways Returns To Colombo With Nonstop Flights Credit: Robin Guess | Shutterstock The final addition to the list is Colombo's Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (CMB) in Sri Lanka, where British Airways is operating three weekly nonstop flights during the northern winter season. The airline previously served Colombo from London Gatwick between 2013 and 2015, though flights in both directions operated via Malé, the capital of the Maldives. As Simple Flying previously reported, around 409,000 round-trip passengers traveled between London and Colombo in 2025 (equivalent to more than 1,100 daily). This demand came from both tourists and passengers visiting friends and relatives, and notably, London was by far Sri Lanka's largest European market. However, passenger demand alone does not guarantee a route's commercial success. British Airways does face competition from SriLankan Airlines, which also operates nonstop flights between London and Colombo, as well as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. The three Gulf carriers have a strong presence in the one-stop market between Europe and Sri Lanka and offer competitive fares, putting pressure on yields. Whether the UK airline can attract enough higher-yielding passengers to sustain the service remains to be seen.