London Heathrow is adding six routes to its winter 2026/27 programme, including Virgin Atlantic’s three-times-weekly service to Phuket and British Airways connections to Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur, San José in Costa Rica and Fuerteventura. Xiamen Airlines and beOnd will join the airport’s airline network, with the latter operating three weekly flights to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea region from December.
Xiamen Airlines began three-times-weekly flights to Xiamen on 6 September, followed by Virgin Atlantic’s Phuket service on 18 October. British Airways will launch five weekly flights to San José on 25 October, twice-weekly flights to Fuerteventura from 13 December and a daily Melbourne service via Kuala Lumpur from 9 January 2027.
beOnd’s Red Sea operation is scheduled to begin on 15 December, operating three times weekly from Terminal 3. The service will provide onward connectivity to the Maldives through the airline’s network.
Heathrow has positioned the additions as evidence of continued airline demand for the UK’s hub airport and as an expansion of passenger and business links with destinations in Asia, Australia, Central America, China, the Canary Islands and Saudi Arabia. The airport is operating at capacity and is using the arrival of two new carriers to support its case for future expansion, which it says would allow further routes and network growth.