British Airways has launched its winter 2026 schedule, introducing new routes, increasing capacity on popular long-haul services and expanding flights to European winter holiday destinations.
The expanded programme includes four new routes, additional aircraft and the return of the airline’s first retrofitted Airbus A380. Capacity will also increase across 11 popular long-haul destinations.
New routes and increased capacity
Capacity will increase on several existing long-haul routes, including Cape Town, Tokyo, Barbados, Jamaica and Costa Rica. From December 13, services between London Heathrow and Cape Town will increase to three flights daily, up from 17 flights per week.
The airline launched its new seasonal service between London Gatwick and Colombo, Sri Lanka, on October 23. Operating three times a week throughout the winter season, the route offers economy, premium economy and business-class cabins.
British Airways will also introduce a new daily service to Melbourne, Australia, via Kuala Lumpur from January 9, 2027. The route will provide additional access to Australia, including during major sporting events such as the Australian Open and Melbourne Grand Prix.
More options for winter holidays
The winter schedule includes additional frequencies to European destinations such as Rome, Florence, Gothenburg and Jersey. Palermo will become a year-round destination, while services to Thessaloniki will extend into November and March. Flights to Cairo will increase to three daily, adding seven services per week.
For ski travellers, British Airways will operate up to 110 weekly flights to Geneva during the peak season, with departures from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports.
The airline is also expanding services to popular Christmas market destinations. During December, it will operate up to five weekly flights from Heathrow to Cologne and four to Nuremberg. Innsbruck will receive 16 weekly flights from Gatwick and two from London City.
A new seasonal route between Gatwick and Rovaniemi, Finland, will operate twice weekly from December 4, 2026, until January 4, 2027, providing direct access to Finnish Lapland and its winter attractions.
