British Airways New Heathrow Routes 2026: Every New Destination, Launch Date & Frequency
- British Airways added three new Heathrow destinations in 2026: St. Louis, Guernsey and Tivat in Montenegro.
- All three are already flying. St. Louis and Guernsey both launched on 19 April; Tivat followed on 14 May.
- Only Guernsey runs all year. St. Louis and Tivat are summer-season routes and stop for the winter.
- The next genuinely new Heathrow destination is Melbourne, daily from 9 January 2027, routed via Kuala Lumpur.
- Abu Dhabi returns to Heathrow daily from 25 October 2026, and San José in Costa Rica moves to Heathrow for the winter.
- Colombo is a new BA destination for 2026 but it is a Gatwick route, not a Heathrow one.
- The three new European routes announced for summer 2026 are BA Cityflyer services from London City, Stansted and Glasgow — none of them from Heathrow.
British Airways added three new Heathrow destinations in 2026 — St. Louis, Guernsey and Tivat — and all three are already flying.
If you came here looking for something new to book, the honest answer is that you are a few months late for this year and a few months early for next. The next genuinely new Heathrow destination is Melbourne, and that is January 2027.
The three new Heathrow routes
| Destination | From | Started | Flights | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | LHR Terminal 5 | 19 Apr 2026 | 4 a week | Summer only |
| Guernsey | LHR | 19 Apr 2026 | Daily | Year-round |
| Tivat, Montenegro | LHR Terminal 3 | 14 May 2026 | 3 a week | Summer only |
“New route” is doing three different jobs in that table. One of these is a daily, year-round service. The other two vanish at the end of the summer season — so if you are planning a winter trip, two of the three new Heathrow routes of 2026 are not available to you at all.
St. Louis
Four flights a week from Heathrow Terminal 5, summer season only, on a Boeing 787.
The first flight left on 19 April 2026, making St. Louis BA’s 27th US destination. British Airways is the only UK airline flying direct to the city.
Three cabins: World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World. No First on this route.
BA’s own framing for the launch leaned on the timing — the 100th anniversary of Route 66, which runs through the city, and its usefulness as a jumping-off point for Kansas City. The airline also could not resist crewing the inaugural flight entirely with people named Louis, Lewis or Louise.
Guernsey
Daily, year-round, and the only direct flight between Guernsey and Heathrow.
This is the most genuinely useful of the three, precisely because it is not seasonal. BA points out that the timings are built for connections — it says the route offers onward links to more than 20 European destinations, which matters if you live on the island rather than if you are visiting it.
It launched the same day as St. Louis, 19 April 2026. The first flight was crewed by people with connections to the island, down to the captain, and served a Guernsey Gâche Mèlèe on board.
Tivat
Three a week from Heathrow Terminal 3, summer season only, from 14 May 2026.
Tivat sits on the Bay of Kotor, and this is the only direct Heathrow service to it. It is the shortest-season route of the three.
Announced alongside Guernsey in November 2025, in a release whose headline point was that BA’s Heathrow short-haul network was approaching 100 destinations.
What’s next: Melbourne
Daily from 9 January 2027, from Heathrow, via Kuala Lumpur.
This is the next new Heathrow destination, and it is a long-haul one. BA has timed the launch for the Australian Open and the Melbourne Grand Prix.
- Daily, year-round — not seasonal.
- Four cabins, including First. That is the only one of these routes with a First cabin.
- Return fares from £1,130, including taxes and carrier fees, per BA. On sale since 17 March 2026.
It is a plan, not a service. It has been announced and it is on sale, and it has not flown. That distinction is worth keeping because the same March 2026 release that announced it also recorded BA extending cancellations elsewhere on its network.
Returning or moving to Heathrow
Not new destinations, but new to Heathrow — or newly more frequent:
- Abu Dhabi returns for its planned winter schedule, daily from 25 October 2026.
- San José, Costa Rica increases to five a week and moves to Heathrow for winter 2026.
- Cape Town gets a third daily Heathrow flight from December.
- Tokyo Haneda goes to twice daily from the end of March and stays there through winter.
- Delhi holds at three a day, the summer increase carried into the winter schedule.
BA describes the winter 2026 schedule as 9% growth in its long-haul network.
What’s NOT from Heathrow
This is the part that most lists get wrong, because BA announces all of it in the same press releases.
From Gatwick, not Heathrow:
- Colombo, Sri Lanka — 3 a week from 23 October 2026, winter season only, fares from £620 return. Announced, not yet flying. This is a genuinely new BA destination for 2026 — it is just not a Heathrow one.
- Barbados — a daily Gatwick flight from 25 October 2026, alongside the existing Heathrow service, with onward tags to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago.
- St Lucia — becomes a standalone daily service from 25 October.
- Kingston and Punta Cana — both Gatwick, up to four a week.
From London City, Stansted and Glasgow — BA Cityflyer, not Heathrow:
- Toulon Saint-Tropez from London City, twice weekly, 23 May to 1 September 2026, from £127 each way.
- Olbia, Sardinia, from London Stansted, twice weekly, 23 May to 27 September 2026, from £127 each way.
- San Sebastián from Glasgow, twice weekly, 18 July to 8 September 2026.
BA Cityflyer is a wholly-owned British Airways subsidiary, so its launches go out under the British Airways name and get reported as British Airways routes. It flies from London City, Stansted, Edinburgh and Glasgow — and not from Heathrow at all.
The bottom line
Three new Heathrow destinations in 2026. All three already flying. Only one of them in winter.
If you want something new out of Heathrow to book for a winter trip, the answer is Abu Dhabi’s return on 25 October, or waiting for Melbourne on 9 January. And if a list tells you Colombo or Toulon is a new Heathrow route, it has merged three airports into one.
All routes, dates, frequencies and fares from British Airways media centre releases dated 21 November 2025, 4 December 2025, 16 March 2026 and 20 April 2026.