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British Airways will continue to operate a limited flight schedule during September 2020.
Flights will remain concentrated at London Heathrow, with BA operating a small number of long-haul routes at London Gatwick and a limited short-haul schedule at London City.
In some respects the airline is taking a step backwards compared to July & August. Many summer seasonal short-haul routes end this month. Some year-round short-haul routes that returned in July and August are suspended for September. BA CityFlyer has also pushed back the return of many routes to mainland Europe until October and November.
It seems clear that until there is a meaningful relaxation of travel restrictions, or at least some consistent standards to allow business travel, schedules will remain reduced for some time.
As the airline’s priority is conserving cash, flights will only be reinstated when they can operate on a cash flow positive basis.
Below are the main changes up to the end of September. This article has been updated since publication and will be regularly updated throughout September.
For the most accurate live flight information, it is recommended you use the flight timetables and live flight status pages on ba.com
There may also be inconsistencies between online timetables and BA’s booking engine as some flights may only be offered on a one-way basis, or taken off sale some days before departure.
Also note that cancelled flights are still showing on some airport websites. BA is operating a number of cargo-only flights which may appear on some websites and apps under their regular flight numbers.
Quick Links
Travel & Entry Restrictions
Travel and entry restrictions vary by both country and region and can include:
- Restrictions on entry based on citizenship and purpose of travel.
- Evidence of a negative PCR COVID-19 test.
- Completion and submission of a medical declaration before travel.
- Advance registration with overseas authorities.
- Some long-haul routes (eg India & South Africa) closing for sale up to 7 days before travel.
- Restrictions on transit passengers.
BA has provided a list of links to country-by-country guidance and relevant forms that must be completed before departure on its website.
Some countries require forms to be completed, and submitted to relevant authorities where necessary, 24-72 hours before travel. Passengers who do not comply may be denied boarding.
Country-by-country guidance for UK travellers is also available from the Foreign Office.
Guidance for passengers arriving in the UK is available from the UK government.
Full details of new airport and on board procedures for BA flights are available at ba.com
Some flights may have specific requirements such as different check-in procedures, temperature checks, restrictions on hand luggage and additional Personal Protective Equipment.
BA Refund and Rebooking Policies
If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to a full refund.
You will need to call BA to obtain a refund as this cannot be done online.
All passengers due to travel up to Wednesday 30 September 2020 have the flexibility to change their booking free of charge or exchange the value of their ticket for a Future Travel Voucher (redeemable by phone) or eVoucher (redeemable online).
These can be used as payment towards a new booking for travel up to and including 30 April 2022. More details of this policy are at ba.com Please note there are separate rules on the use of Future Travel Vouchers and eVouchers.
Passengers can check the status of their bookings using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com
London Heathrow
All BA flights are operating from Terminal 5.
BA has reopened its Heathrow departure lounges. A number of airport cafes and coffee shops have reopened. At Terminal 5, the Club Aspire lounge, Gordon Ramsay Plane Food and the Plaza Premium Lounge have reopened.
The food and beverage service on all flights remains limited. Here are details of the service for all cabins.
All other airlines at Heathrow, apart from American Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways are operating from Terminal 2. Terminals 3 and 4 are closed for the foreseeable future.
London Heathrow – UK Domestic
BA is currently flying to Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Manchester, Newcastle and Newquay.
BA has permanently suspended Leeds Bradford.
London Heathrow – Short-Haul Europe
Year-round short-haul routes operating in September include:
Amsterdam
Athens
Barcelona
Berlin Tegel
Bologna
Budapest
Copenhagen
Frankfurt
Geneva
Gibraltar
Hamburg
Hannover
Istanbul
Krakow
Larnaca
Lisbon
Lyon
Madrid (Flights BA460 & BA461 operated with Boeing 777 aircraft on Monday, Thursday and Saturday)
Marseille
Milan Malpensa
Moscow Domodedovo
Munich
Nice
Oslo
Paris Charles De Gaulle
Pisa
Prague
Rome Fiumicino
Sofia
Stockholm
Toulouse
Venice
Warsaw
Zagreb
Zurich
Some routes that operated in July & August are suspended until October. These include Basel, Billund, Brussels, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Gothenburg, Luxembourg, Reykjavik, Valencia and Vienna.
The return of Milan Linate and Stuttgart has been delayed until October.
BA has permanently suspended flights to Beirut and Moscow Sheremetyevo.
Summer seasonal routes operating in September include:
Bastia (until 5 September)
Bodrum
Brindisi
Corfu
Crete
Dalaman
Faro
Figari Sud-Corse Corsica
Ibiza
Kalamata
Kefalonia
Malaga
Mykonos
Olbia
Palermo
Palma de Mallorca
Preveza
Pristina (until 5 September)
Pula (until 5 September)
Rhodes
Santorini
Split
Zakynthos
Summer seasonal routes to Ljubljana, Montpellier, Nantes, Perugia, and Podgorica are suspended until 2021.
BA has transferred many short-haul routes from Gatwick to Heathrow until Sunday 28 March 2021 including:
These still carry their original Gatwick flight numbers, which have four digits beginning with a 2. They may show on some websites as diverted, due to the change of airport.
Alicante
Bari
Bilbao
Bordeaux
Cagliari
Catania
Dubrovnik
Funchal
Jersey
Kos
Lanzarote
Mahon, Menorca
Malta
Naples
Paphos
Porto
Seville
Tenerife
Thessaloniki
Turin
Verona
Flights on overlapping routes such as Dalaman, Faro, Ibiza, Palma and Rhodes have also transferred to Heathrow.
Gatwick routes to Algiers, Gran Canaria and Salzburg are not yet operating at Heathrow.
London Heathrow – Long-Haul
A number of long-haul routes are suspended with frequencies cut on others until late March 2021.
Some long-haul flights may be reinstated at short notice depending on reciprocal agreements between countries on reopening routes.
Long-haul routes operating with reduced frequencies are:
Africa
Abuja
Accra
Cairo
Cape Town (from 1 October)
Johannesburg (from 1 October)
Lagos
Nairobi
Asia
Hong Kong
Islamabad
Kuala Lumpur (from 2 October)
Lahore (new route from 12 October)
Shanghai
Singapore
Tokyo Haneda (from 1 October)
Caribbean
Barbados (from 17 October)
Central & South America
Buenos Aires (from 25 September)
Mexico City (from 24 September)
Sao Paulo
India
Bengaluru
Chennai (one way only to London Heathrow)
Delhi
Hyderabad
Mumbai
Note that flights between London Heathrow and Delhi and Mumbai close for sale 72 hours before departure. All passengers travelling between the UK and India must complete a number of forms prior to travel and ensure they comply fully with all entry requirements. There are also restrictions on transit passengers. Links to the relevant forms are on ba.com
Indian Ocean
Male (from 16 October)
The Seychelles (from 10 October)
Middle East
Bahrain (from 1 October)
Dubai
Kuwait
Riyadh (from 1 October)
Tel Aviv
North America
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago O’Hare
Dallas / Fort Worth
Grand Cayman (1 October, 15 October only – return following day)
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal (from 2 September)
New York JFK
Orlando (from 25 October)
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Seattle
Toronto
Washington Dulles
London Heathrow – Sydney via Singapore is suspended until 15 December 2020.
BA has suspended summer seasonal routes to Calgary and Charleston until 2021. The planned launch of Portland, Oregon has been cancelled.
A number of long-haul routes are expected to be suspended for the winter season. These include Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Durban, Jeddah, Osaka and Pittsburgh.
Long-haul flights are currently operated with Airbus A350-1000, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 family aircraft.
BA’s fleet of 12 Airbus A380 aircraft is grounded and 4 aircraft are expected to be placed into storage for up to 3 years. BA has retired its entire Boeing 747 fleet, some four years earlier than planned. A number of Boeing 777 aircraft will be placed into storage for up to 3 years.
London Gatwick – Long Haul
BA is currently operating limited flights from London Gatwick to Antigua, Bermuda, Barbados, Kingston and St Lucia.
BA currently plans to resume the following long-haul destinations at Gatwick:
Cancun – Saturday 17 October
Montego Bay – New winter seasonal route from Tuesday 13 October
Punta Cana – Tuesday 27 October
Providenciales – Sunday 25 October
As the South Terminal is currently closed to passenger flights, these will operate from the North Terminal.
Las Vegas, Lima, New York JFK and Toronto are suspended until summer 2021. Winter seasonal flights to Cape Town will not operate this year.
London Gatwick – Short-Haul
Short-haul flights will not resume at London Gatwick until 28 March 2021 at the earliest.
Flights from Gatwick to Antalya will not resume until April 2021. Almeria and Milan Bergamo have been permanently suspended.
London City
BA CityFlyer has resumed, with limited frequencies, flights to Dublin, Edinburgh, Florence, Glasgow, Ibiza, Mahon, Nice, and Palma de Mallorca.
Summer seasonal routes to Bergerac have ended for the year.
BA no longer wet leases an aircraft from Loganair to fly to the Isle of Man, which is now operated by Loganair in its on right.
BA launched a new route to Belfast City airport on Monday 7 September.
Year-round routes will resume as follows:
Amsterdam (5 October)
Berlin Tegel (7 September)
Dusseldorf (21 September)
Frankfurt (7 September)
Geneva (28 November)
Milan Linate (2 November)
Munich (2 November)
Prague (23 October)
Rome Fiumicino (2 November)
Rotterdam (1 November)
Zurich (7 September)
BA’s franchise partner SUN-AIR will reinstate London City – Billund from Monday 19 October at the earliest.
Summer seasonal routes to Mykonos, Santorini, Skiathos and Split are not operating this year. The planned launch of San Sebastian has been postponed. Venice has been suspended until summer 2021.
London City – New York JFK is suspended permanently.
Alliance & Codeshare Partners
BA’s franchise partner in Africa Comair plans to resume flights from December 2020, following a vote in favour of its business rescue plan.
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