TAKING OFF
British Airways scraps plans to ditch long-haul route with flights to resume next year
The airline also relaunched a popular winter sun flight
BRITISH Airways has reversed its decision to scrap a long-haul flight route from the UK.
The flag carrier announced earlier this month that they would be ending their London Heathrow flights to Bahrain.
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Having first launched 92 years ago, the route was set to end in March 2025.
However, they have since u-turned and confirmed that the route would continue.
They said: "Following discussions with our partners and stakeholders, we can confirm we will operate a service between London Heathrow and Bahrain International Airport three times a week from the start of the Summer 2025 season.
"This will increase to a daily service from the start of the Winter 2025 season.”
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This was also backed by Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, CEO of the Bahrain Airport Company.
He said: “As the oldest airline operating out of Bahrain for over 92 years, the enduring partnership with British Airways is a testament to our shared commitment to excellence."
The route first launched in 1932, when the airline was named Imperial Airways.
The route scrapping was due to ongoing delays with deliveries of Rolls-Royces parts, an issue affecting the entire airline industry.
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They said at the time: "We’re disappointed that we’ve had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce – particularly concerning the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft."
British Airways will still scrap its London to Kuwait route from March 2025.
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In October, the London to Beijing was suspended, with no confirmed date for it being restarted.
The route first started in 1999, and only resumed in 2023 after the pandemic.
That same month, the London Heathrow and Belgrade was also scrapped after just one year, when it returned after a 13-year hiatus.
In better news, the flag carrier relaunched their flights to Bangkok from Chiang Mai for the first time since the pandemic.
The Thailand route was suspended in 2020, but will operate three times a week, going up to five times a week in January and February.
Additional routes are also being launched to the US.
Seven more flights a week will launch to Miami, with six more weekly flights to Austin and three more to Las Vegas.
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Seven extra flights a week will fly to Washington with another weekly flight to Pittsburgh.
The new routes will see British Airways operate 400 direct flights to the US a week during the peak season.
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