Virgin Atlantic is to launch flights to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in 2025, when it will also return to Accra in Ghana.
Tickets for both routes from London Heathrow will go on sale on 1 September.
The airline said it had decided to launch a daily service to Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport from 30 March 2025 as air travel between the UK and Saudi is expected to grow by almost a quarter up to 2035.
“The market is expected to have a predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale, which will see customers visiting the UK, as well as seamlessly connecting to 12 destinations throughout North America, on Virgin Atlantic and Delta networks, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Boston and Detroit,” said Virgin.
“Alongside business travellers, the route will serve the ‘visiting friends and relatives’ (VFR) market, which has seen a fivefold increase in Saudis living in the UK between 2000 and 2018,” it added.
Flights will be operated by Virgin’s new A330neo aircraft, with onward connections in Riyadh available to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi with partner airline Saudia.
From May 2025, Virgin will relaunch flights to Ghana, a route it ceased operating in 2013.
It will operate daily flights to Kotoka International Airport from 1 May, mainly targeting the VFR market and those flying between Ghana and New York, with connections available at Heathrow.
Flights will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The airline also announced in June that it will re-launch flights to Canada next year.
The launch of the new routes follows the news that Virgin will suspend its London to Shanghai service in October 2024, which it blamed on increased flight times and operating costs due to the need to fly around Russian airspace due to the war in Ukraine.
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Tickets for both routes from London Heathrow will go on sale on 1 September.
The airline said it had decided to launch a daily service to Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport from 30 March 2025 as air travel between the UK and Saudi is expected to grow by almost a quarter up to 2035.
“The market is expected to have a predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale, which will see customers visiting the UK, as well as seamlessly connecting to 12 destinations throughout North America, on Virgin Atlantic and Delta networks, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Boston and Detroit,” said Virgin.
“Alongside business travellers, the route will serve the ‘visiting friends and relatives’ (VFR) market, which has seen a fivefold increase in Saudis living in the UK between 2000 and 2018,” it added.
Flights will be operated by Virgin’s new A330neo aircraft, with onward connections in Riyadh available to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi with partner airline Saudia.
From May 2025, Virgin will relaunch flights to Ghana, a route it ceased operating in 2013.
It will operate daily flights to Kotoka International Airport from 1 May, mainly targeting the VFR market and those flying between Ghana and New York, with connections available at Heathrow.
Flights will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The airline also announced in June that it will re-launch flights to Canada next year.
The launch of the new routes follows the news that Virgin will suspend its London to Shanghai service in October 2024, which it blamed on increased flight times and operating costs due to the need to fly around Russian airspace due to the war in Ukraine.
The post Virgin to launch flights to Saudia Arabia and Ghana appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
