by Last year was a landmark year for aviation – and in 2024 our fields will extend even wider. While Heathrow and Gatwick flights are almost back to 2019 levels, regional airports have been slower to end the post-pandemic downturn – until now.
With budget airlines opening new non-London hubs, and a healthy set of new long-haul routes, Britain’s smaller airports will get a much-needed boost. Here are the new routes to look out for this year – and the early bird promo fares you need to book now.
Spring sunlight in Agadir, Morocco
Jet2 and British Airways will launch new routes to Agadir this year, an enticing prospect for reliable warmth in spring, autumn and winter – as a city break that includes its ancient kasbah (citadel) and souks, or as a beach break on the sandy side to the south. Atlantic coast. Or maybe a bit of both.
The BA service from Gatwick will run four times a week, starting on March 31, with return fares from £138. Jet2 flights start later in the year, from Stansted (from 3 October, twice a week), as well as regionals Bristol (6 October, once a week), Glasgow (3 November, once a week), Leeds Bradford ( October 3,,). once a week), and Birmingham and Manchester (both 3 October, twice a week).
New flights from Gatwick to Singapore…
There’s good news for Londoners looking east: Singapore Airlines will start a new direct service from Gatwick to Singapore Changi on June 22, flying five times a week. Book before 15 January to redeem its promotional fees, from £645 per person. The trip will take 13 hours, on its Airbus A350-900 fleet.
The new service will add to the airline’s four daily flights from Heathrow and five times weekly flights from Manchester, increasing its offering to 38 direct flights a week from the UK to Singapore – more than any other carrier.
…and on to Perth, Tokyo and Yangon
The new Singapore Airlines flight will land at Changi at 6.20am – just in time to take advantage of the forward schedule, which will see significant growth in 2024.
Key links include an increase of four daily flights from Singapore to Perth from 31 March (back to pre-pandemic levels), four daily flights to Tokyo from 1 September, and 10 weekly flights to Yangon in Myanmar from 2 August . there will be new events in line with the service arriving from Gatwick that morning.
And a little trivia for you: Singapore Airlines runs the fastest connecting service from the UK to Sydney, taking as little as 21 hours and 40 minutes, including layover time.
Liverpool get a lot busier
Jet2 will open a new hub at Liverpool John Lennon on March 28, the airline’s 11th departure point. Its spring and summer schedule is already looking busy, with new direct flights to the likes of Lanzarote (from 28 March, three times a week), Alicante (30 March, four times a week), Bodrum (1 May, twice a week week). and Ibiza (May 3, three times a week) – and others.
The airline will also offer a number of exclusive routes from Liverpool, featuring destinations not found anywhere else in its network. Among them are Madeira (starting on April 1, Monday), Gran Canaria (March 30, Tuesday and Saturday), Menorca (May 5, Wednesday and Saturday) and Rhodes (May 2, Monday and Thursday).
It will also be a great year for Birmingham, with easyJet opening its new regional base in March. Key destinations include Barcelona (from £50.89 return), Tenerife (£69.55), Malaga (£50) and Antalya (£75.55), growing to Sharm El Sheikh (£175.33), Malta (£97.42) and many more summers to count. your favorite as the year goes on.
Easier escapes to eastern Canada
Between May 1 and October 25, Canadian airline WestJet will fly between Gatwick and St John’s – the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, the country’s easternmost region. Taking less than six hours, the flights will operate three times a week (Sunday, Wednesday and Friday), with one-way fares from £232. An exciting prospect for road trips, putting icy fjords, wild national parks and thundering waterfalls within easy reach.
WestJet has also announced plans to fly between Edinburgh and Halifax for the first time this year, launching a three-week route between 20 June and 3 September. Halifax is Atlantic Canada’s gateway to humpback whale watching on the Bay of Fundy, and the red sands. beaches of Prince Edward Island. One-way fares from around £322.
BA returning to Abu Dhabi (and Stansted)
After a four-year hiatus, British Airways will relaunch its route from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi on April 20, with fares starting at £449. Izmir, on the Turkish Aegean coast, is another newbie for the airline from Heathrow: its weekly (Saturday) service will be priced from £146. Although many will use it to flock to the beaches, it is worth staying in Izmir bazaar, museums and ancient Ephesian treasures nearby.
BA will also return to London Stansted from May 18, adding three new routes to its weekend timetable: Nice (return from £86), Florence (£82) and Ibiza (£72).
Happy New Year to Scotland
As well as the above route to Canada from Edinburgh, holidaymakers north of the border will enjoy local connections to a number of new destinations this year. From 25 May, British Airways will fly from Edinburgh to Olbia in Sardinia (weekly, from £176 return), and twice weekly to San Sebastian in northern Spain (twice weekly, from £164) – just in time for summer.
On the southwest coast of Norway, Bergen is another new wild card from Edinburgh: from June 20, Norwegian will fly twice a week between the two cities. With mountains and fjords on its doorstep, this will be popular with walkers, climbers and cruisers.
Meanwhile in Glasgow, TUI will add a new weekly flight (on Saturdays) to Verona in May, bringing Italy’s lakes Como, Garda and Maggiore within easy reach. This will be in addition to the existing Wednesday service, allowing for shorter journeys and more flexibility.
The Virgin Atlantic network is growing – again
Last year was a huge success for Virgin Atlantic, with new routes launching to Dubai, the Maldives and the Turks and Caicos Islands – and its network will expand even further in 2024. From 31 March, it will start a daily service from Heathrow to Bengaluru – known as ‘India’s Silicon Valley’ for its technology companies, but also rich in temples and palaces. Return fees from £487.
Virgin will also step up its winter sunshine program this year, with increased services to Barbados from Heathrow (twice daily) and Manchester (four times weekly), from October 27, 2024. Over the summer, it will boost its Heathrow-US routes too, increasing its daily flights to New York JFK from six to seven (from £391 return), and daily flights to Boston from one to two (from £393 return).
