London Heathrow is the principal hub of British Airways where it operates from Terminal 5. Here is the latest news in connection with BA at London Heathrow.
London Heathrow Terminal 5 Check-In Concourse (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways has moved a number of short & long haul routes back from London Heathrow Terminal 3 to 5.
The changes have been applied today, Tuesday 28 June, with effect from Tuesday 12 July 2022.
The airline had made a number of route moves between Terminals 3 & 5 at the start of the summer season in March. Many of these have now been reversed.
It is quite unusual for BA to move routes during the middle of the season and at short notice. This is possibly due to congestion at Terminal 3 and schedule cuts which enable more routes to be accommodated at Terminal 5.
To accommodate the move American Airlines and Iberia will move back to Terminal 3 on the same date.
Note that the Heathrow airport website has not yet been updated with these changes.
Readers can keep up to date with the latest moves with a dedicated guide to BA at Terminal 3.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge, London Heathrow Terminal 3 (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways will continue to operate long haul flights at London Heathrow Terminal 3 throughout the winter season.
The airline is in the process of restarting long haul flights at the terminal following a two year absence. It moved flights to Barbados, Nairobi and Orlando from Terminal 5 to 3 on 30 March 2022.
Flights to Accra, Austin, Las Vegas, Phoenix and São Paulo – Buenos Aires follow shortly on 25 April.
This was intended to be for the summer season only, to allow American Airlines to move Dallas / Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Miami to Terminal 5 for the summer.
It has now been extended to the winter season, which begins on Sunday 30 October 2022, for many routes. BA has today, Thursday 21 April, updated its timetables.
British Airways Galleries Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 3 (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways will restart long haul flights at London Heathrow Terminal 3 from Wednesday 30 March 2022.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic all BA flights at London Heathrow were consolidated at Terminal 5. BA resumed short haul flights at Terminal 3 in late 2021.
These long haul routes will move from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3:
Accra – 25 April 2022 Austin – 25 April 2022 Barbados – 30 March 2022 Nairobi – 30 March 2022 Orlando – 30 March 2022 Las Vegas – 25 April 2022 Phoenix – 25 April 2022 São Paulo – Buenos Aires – 25 April 2022
These dates may change and further route transfers later in the summer season are possible.
British Airways Galleries Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 3 (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways resumes short haul flights at London Heathrow Terminal 3 from, today, Tuesday 9 November 2021.
All BA flights at London Heathrow were consolidated at Terminal 5, initially “for a few weeks” from the end of March 2020. The terminal, along with Terminal 4, closed shortly afterwards with all airlines operating from Terminals 2 or 5.
Terminal 3 reopened to passenger flights in July 2021. BA’s Oneworld alliance partners American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Sri Lankan and Qantas Airways are operating at Terminal 3.
American Airlines’ flights between Heathrow and New York JFK remain co-located with BA at Terminal 5.
A number of other airlines moved back to Terminal 3 many weeks ago including Delta, Emirates, MEA and Virgin Atlantic.
BA was originally due to return to Terminal 3 before the end of September 2021. The return to Terminal 3 is no doubt driven by the expansion of long haul routes to the US.
Terminal 4 is closed to passenger flights. It remains on standby to be used as an arrivals terminal should the UK government add any countries back onto its “red list”.
BA Terminal 3 Short Haul Routes
BA short haul routes moving from Terminal 5 to 3 in 2021 include:
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways will reinstate a number of long-haul routes at London Heathrow in December.
This follows the easing of lockdown restrictions in England in December which had prompted the airline to operate many routes on a cargo only basis during November. Frequencies are also increased on a number of other routes.
As ever, schedules are subject to change at short notice. There is limited visibility on flight schedules. Timetables indicate some long-haul routes may return at London Gatwick later in December. However, these have been postponed at short notice many times before.
BA’s Galleries Club South and First lounges at Terminal 5 also reopen from 2 December.
By region, routes expected to return at Heathrow, or benefit from frequency increases, include:
North America
Destinations provisionally due to return in December include Boston and Philadelphia from 3 December as well as Atlanta and San Francisco from 10 December.
Flights from London Heathrow to Barbados will increase to daily from 9 December.
BA will continue to operate passenger flights to Chicago O’Hare, Grand Cayman, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Seattle, Toronto and Washington Dulles throughout December.
Central & South America
BA returns to Rio de Janeiro with three times weekly flights from 12 December.
Flights to Sao Paulo increase to daily from 2 December. BA will also provisionally fly to Buenos Aires and Mexico City from 4 December and Santiago weekly on Saturdays from 5 December.
Africa & Indian Ocean
BA reinstates daily flights to Cape Town from 3 December and to The Maldives from 4 December.
Flights to the Maldives are operated with BA’s latest Boeing 777-300ER aircraft which features a modified First Class cabin and the Club Suite in Club World.
Flights to Abuja increase to daily from 2 December. Accra also increases to daily from 3 December.
BA is provisionally due to return to The Seychelles from 12 December.
BA continues to serve Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi throughout December.
British Airways is to temporarily transfer all short and long-haul flights currently scheduled to operate from London Heathrow Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 from Sunday 29 March 2020.
London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Image Credit: Heathrow)
British Airways is to temporarily transfer all short and long-haul flights currently scheduled to operate from London Heathrow Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 from Sunday 29 March 2020.
This follows a substantial reduction in BA’s schedules during April and May.
The transfer will take effect until mid-April at the earliest.
Given disruption to air travel from Coronavirus is likely to continue into the autumn, the transfer may well become prolonged, if not permanent.
Passengers with connections to / from BA and its partner airlines should bear in mind that the Minimum Connection Times for intra and inter-terminal transfers are different.
The Minimum Connection Time for T3-T5 connections is 90 minutes and for T5-T5 connections is 60 minutes.
These changes are showing on ba.com as of Monday 23 March. Passengers with connections should check their bookings to see they are compliant. There may also be some slight changes to flight times.
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways will switch its daily flight from London Heathrow to Tokyo Narita airport to Tokyo Haneda airport from Saturday 28 March 2020.
Currently, BA flies to both Tokyo Haneda (Flights BA7 & BA8) and Tokyo Narita (Flights BA5 & BA6) daily. From Saturday 28 March 2020, it will fly to Tokyo Haneda twice daily.
Flights BA5 & BA6 will continue to be operated with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft and the flight timings are broadly the same with an afternoon departure from London Heathrow and Tokyo.
BA has cited better onward connections to its joint business partner Japan Airlines and local transportation links as a reason for the move.
As BA is continuing to serve Tokyo, it is not offering any refunds to affected passengers as a consequence of this move. However, some passengers with onward connections may need to rebook to meet minimum connection times.
Passengers can check the status of their booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com and should contact BA or their travel agent.
Japan Airlines also flies from London Heathrow to Tokyo Haneda twice daily. As a consequence of this change, there will be no direct flights from London Heathrow to Tokyo Narita.
London Heathrow Terminal 5A (Image Credit: Heathrow)
Sunday 27 October 2019 marks the beginning of the Winter 2019 travel season for airlines. This runs until Saturday 28 March 2020. Here are the main known schedule changes for British Airways at London Heathrow.
These are for indicative guidance and are subject to change according to commercial and operational requirements. Flights from Heathrow can booked at ba.com
London Heathrow Terminal Changes
Billund, Hanover, San Diego and Zagreb move from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3.
Luxembourg, Lyon and Phoenix move from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5.
New Long-Haul Routes
BA will fly to Dammam as an extension to its existing service to Bahrain from 1 December 2019. As a consequence of this, BA’s ground transfer service from Bahrain to Dammam (Sold as flight numbers BA8499/BA8498) will cease.
Boeing 787-10 Flights
British Airways will take delivery of its first Boeing 787-10 aircraft in January 2020.
BA has 12 787-10 aircraft on order, and six will be received in 2020. The first 787-10 route will be London Heathrow – Atlanta from an, as yet unconfirmed date, in February 2020.
Airbus A350-1000 Flights
BA’s Airbus A350-1000 aircraft are due to operate the following flights during the winter season:
Flights BA107/BA106 – London Heathrow – Dubai Flights BA93/BA92 – London Heathrow – Toronto Flights BA163/BA162 – London Heathrow – Tel Aviv (from Sunday 1 December 2019) Flights BA119/BA118 – London Heathrow – Bengaluru (from Wednesday 1 January 2020)
Airbus A380 Flights
Here are seasonal changes to routes operated with Airbus A380 aircraft:
Daily A380 flights to Boston (BA213/BA212) end on Sunday 27 October 2019. It is currently scheduled to return on Monday 30 March 2020.
Daily A380 flights to Chicago O’Hare (BA297/BA296) end on Friday 25 October 2019. It is currently scheduled to return on Sunday 29 March 2020.
On Saturday 26 October 2019, A380 flights to Hong Kong swap from BA31/BA32 to BA27/BA28.
BA switches to a twice daily A380 operation to Johannesburg (BA55 & BA54 / BA57 & BA56) from Sunday 27 October 2019.
BA resumes daily flights to Los Angeles on flights BA269/BA268 from Sunday 27 October 2019.
The A380 moves from a daily operation to San Francisco to Monday, Thursday & Saturday only on flights BA286 & BA287.
Daily A380 flights to Vancouver ended on Wednesday 30 September 2019. It is currently scheduled to return from Friday 1 May 2020.
The A380 returns to Washington Dulles daily from Sunday 27 October 2019 on flights BA217 & BA216 until Sunday 29 March 2020.
Other Long-Haul Changes
Beijing moves from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) to Beijing Daxing Airport (PKX) from 27 October 2019.
Cairo will continue to be operated by an Air Belgium Airbus A340 aircraft until Wednesday 6 November 2019. It will be then operated by a Titan Airways A321 aircraft until Wednesday 12 January 2020.
Calgary is suspended for the winter from Friday 25 October 2019. It will resume, initially three times weekly only, from Sunday 29 March 2020.
Charleston ends on Thursday 24 October 2019 and is currently scheduled to resume on Sunday 29 March 2019.
Muscat resumes for the winter from Wednesday 30 October 2019 and will operate, initially four times weekly, until 18 April 2020.
A long-run of Boeing 747 operations to Phoenix comes to an end as the route switches to a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Suspended Short-Haul Routes
Gran Canaria is suspended from Sunday 3 November 2019. The route will continue to operate from Gatwick.
Kyiv and St Petersburg have been suspended on Thursday 3 October 2019.
Returning Winter Seasonal Routes
Grenoble resumes, on Saturdays only, from Saturday 14 December 2019 to Saturday 28 March 2020.
Innsbruck resumes on Friday 13 December 2019.
Three times weekly services to Marrakech resumed on 3 October 2019 until Saturday 25 April 2020.
Services to Salzburg resume, initially four times weekly, from Friday 13 December 2019 until Saturday 28 March 2020.
BA Airbus A319 aircraft at London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways has pretty much firmed up its schedule for the summer travel season, which officially starts on Sunday 31 March 2019.
Here are details of known schedule changes. Please note these are indicative and subject to change, particularly in the case of seasonal routes around the shoulder season.
Long-Haul Changes
BA will reinstate three former long-haul routes this summer:
Osaka, four times weekly from Sunday 31 March.
Pittsburgh, four times weekly, from Tuesday 2 April.
Islamabad, three times weekly from Sunday 2 June.
In terms of seasonal long-haul changes:
BA will fly to Charleston twice a week from Thursday 4 April until Thursday 24 October.
Calgary returns for summer from Sunday 31 March until Friday 25 October.
Muscat is suspended for the summer from Sunday 31 March until Wednesday 30 October.
In terms of long-haul frequency changes:
Nashville increases to daily from Monday 22 April.
Phoenix decreases from 10 flights a week to a daily service from Sunday 31 March.
New Short-Haul Route
Valencia transfers from Gatwick to Heathrow from Sunday 31 March.
Short-Haul Route Suspensions
Bilbao transfers to Gatwick from Sunday 31 March.
Milan Linate is suspended from Sunday 28 July to Saturday 26 October due to the closure of the airport.
Tallinn is suspended from Friday 29 March.
New Summer Seasonal Short-Haul Routes
Bastia once a week on Saturdays from 25 May to 28 September.
Preveza on Wednesdays and Sundays from Sunday 26 May to Sunday 28 September.
Ljubljana in Slovenia and Montpellier from Monday 15 July to Monday 2 September.
Seasonal Short-Haul Route Changes
Marrakech and Salzburg end for the winter on Saturday 30 March.
The following summer seasonal routes return this year:
Brindisi from Saturday 25 May to Saturday 5 October. Chania from Wednesday 22 May to Saturday 26 October. Corfu from Sunday 31 March to Saturday 26 October. Faro from Sunday 31 March to Saturday 26 October. Figari Sud-Corse Corsica, from Sunday 26 May to Sunday 29 September. Ibiza from Sunday 28 April to Saturday 28 October. Kalamata from Sunday 28 April to Sunday 29 September. Kefalonia from Tuesday 30 April to Saturday 28 September. Mykonos from Sunday 28 April to Saturday 26 October. Nantes from Thursday 11 July to Wednesday 4 September. Olbia from Saturday 18 May to Sunday 29 September. Palma from Sunday 31 March to Saturday 26 October. Palermo from Sunday 28 April to Sunday 29 September. Pula from Tuesday 21 May to Tuesday 24 September. Santorini from Sunday 28 April to Saturday 26 October. Split from Sunday 28 April to Friday 25 October. Zakynthos from Saturday 25 May to Saturday 28 September.
Note that operating dates and frequencies can change at short notice due to commercial demand.
Almeria will not return this year, having transferred to Gatwick.
Menorca will not return this year, and will operate exclusively at Gatwick.
Murcia will also not return as BA has not yet chosen to operate from the new airport in the region.
Short-Haul Frequency Changes
There are the usual modest frequency changes on long established routes. Particularly of note, and probably a sign of market dynamics, is that Manchester decreases by 14 flights a week, Glasgow decreases by 8 flights a week, and Aberdeen and Newcastle each decrease by 7 flights a week. Inverness however increases to 16 flights a week.
Helsinki also decreases to a daily service.
Larnaca increases to 2 to 3 times daily from Friday 12 July.
Pisa increases to 18 flights a week and also transfers from Terminal 5 to 3.
Alliance & Codeshare Partners
American Airlines launches a daily service to Phoenix from 31 March.
Here are details of BA’s London Heathrow winter schedule from Sunday 28 October 2018 with details of new and seasonal winter routes as well as terminal, aircraft and frequency changes.
BA Airbus A319 aircraft at London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways is in the process of firming up its schedules for the winter travel season, which officially starts on Sunday 28 October 2018.
Here are details of schedule and terminal changes for London Heathrow. Further announcements are expected, particularly at London Gatwick where BA is yet to announce how many of the slots it has acquired from Monarch will be used in the winter.
Please note the details below are based on announcements by BA to the travel trade and our own enquiries on third party subscription services. Not all updates may be updated on ba.com at the time of publication.
New Long-Haul Routes
BA will fly direct to Durban three times a week from Monday 29 October 2018.
New Short-Haul Routes
BA will fly to Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport from Sunday 28 October 2018. More details here.
Route Suspensions
BA’s daily service to Calgary is suspended from 28 October 2018 until Sunday 31 March 2019. More details here.
BA’s weekly service to Luanda is suspended from Thursday 7 June 2018. More details here.
BA’s twice weekly service to Palermo is suspended from the winter season. Affected passengers can be rebooked on to Air Italy via Milan or Vueling via Rome or Barcelona. Note that neither airline offers business class to Palermo.
BA’s service to Tehran is suspended from Saturday 22 September. More details here.
Turin was planned to resume twice weekly from Sunday 16 December 2018 to Saturday 30 March 2019. However, the route has been cancelled. Passengers will be re-accommodated on BA flights from Gatwick.
Winter Seasonal Routes
BA will fly to Marrakech four times a week Thursday – Sunday from 28 October 2018 until Saturday 30 March 2019, complementing its existing service from Gatwick.
Salzburg resumes, four times weekly from Sunday 16 December 2018 to Saturday 30 March 2019.
