New flight routes to get excited about in 2024 – and the tickets to book now
Last year was a bumper year for aviation – and in 2024 our horizons will stretch even wider. While Heathrow and Gatwick flights are very nearly back up to 2019 levels, regional airports have been slower to shake off the post-pandemic slump – until now.
With budget airlines opening new non-London hubs, and a healthy array of fresh long haul routes, Britain’s smaller airports will get a much-needed boost. These are the new routes to look out for this year – and the early-bird promotional fares you need to book now.
Spring sunshine in Agadir, Morocco
Both Jet2 and British Airways will start new routes to Agadir this year, a tempting prospect for reliable warmth in spring, autumn and winter – either as a city trip encompassing its ancient kasbah (citadel) and souks, or a beach break on its sandy south Atlantic coast. Or perhaps a bit of both.
BA’s service will run from Gatwick four times weekly, starting on March 31, with return fares from ￡138. Jet2’s flights start later in the year, from Stansted (from October 3, twice a week), as well as regionals Bristol (October 6, once a week), Glasgow (November 3, once a week), Leeds Bradford (October 3, once a week), and Birmingham and Manchester (both October 3, twice a week).
New flights from Gatwick to Singapore…
There’s good news for Londoners looking east: Singapore Airlines will start a new direct service from Gatwick to Singapore Changi on June 22, flying five times a week. Book before January 15 to scoop its promotional fares, from ￡645 per person. The journey will take 13 hours, on its Airbus A350-900 fleet.
The new service will add to the airline’s four daily flights from Heathrow and five-times weekly flights from Manchester, increasing its offering to 38 direct flights a week from the UK to Singapore – more than any other carrier.
… and onwards to Perth, Tokyo and Yangon
The new Singapore Airlines flight will land at Changi at 6.20am – just in time to take advantage of its onward timetable, which will grow significantly in 2024.
Key connections include an increase to four daily flights from Singapore to Perth from March 31 (back to its pre-pandemic levels), four daily flights to Tokyo from September 1, and 10 weekly flights to Yangon in Myanmar from August 2. Handily, the new departures will line up with the service arriving from Gatwick that morning.
And a nice bit of trivia for you: Singapore Airlines runs the fastest connecting service from the UK to Sydney, taking as little as 21 hours and 40 minutes, including stopover time.
Liverpool to get a lot busier
Jet2 will open a new hub at Liverpool John Lennon on March 28, the airline’s 11th departure point. Its spring and summer schedule is already looking busy, with new direct flights to the likes of Lanzarote (from March 28, three times a week), Alicante (March 30, four times a week), Bodrum (May 1, twice a week) and Ibiza (May 3, three times a week) – and others.
The airline will also offer several exclusive routes from Liverpool, featuring destinations not found elsewhere in its network. Those include Madeira (starting on April 1, on Mondays), Gran Canaria (March 30, Tuesdays and Saturdays), Menorca (May 5, Wednesdays and Saturdays) and Rhodes (May 2, Mondays and Thursdays).
It will also be a bumper year for Birmingham, when easyJet opens its new regional base in March. Key destinations will include Barcelona (from ￡50.89 return), Tenerife (￡69.55), Malaga (￡50) and Antalya (￡75.55), growing to include Sharm El Sheikh (￡175.33), Malta (￡97.42) and many other summer favourites as the year progresses.
Easier escapes to eastern Canada
Between May 1 and October 25, Canadian airline WestJet will hop between Gatwick and St John’s – the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, the nation’s easternmost region. Taking less than six hours, the flights will run three times a week (Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays), with one-way fares priced from ￡232. An exciting prospect for road trips, putting glacial fjords, wild national parks and thundering waterfalls within easy reach.
WestJet has also announced plans to fly between Edinburgh and Halifax for the first time this year, launching a thrice weekly route between June 20 and September 3. Halifax is Atlantic Canada’s gateway to humpback whale watching on the Bay of Fundy, and the red-sand beaches of Prince Edward Island. One-way fares from around ￡322.
BA returning to Abu Dhabi (and Stansted)
After a four-year hiatus, British Airways will relaunch its Heathrow to Abu Dhabi route on April 20, with returns priced from ￡449. Izmir, on Turkey’s Aegean coast, is another newbie for the airline from Heathrow: its weekly service (Saturdays) will be priced from ￡146 return. While many will use it to flock to the beaches, it’s worth lingering for Izmir’s bazaar, museums and the ancient treasures of nearby Ephesus.
BA will also return to London Stansted from May 18, adding three new routes to its timetable at weekends: Nice (return from ￡86), Florence (￡82) and Ibiza (￡72).
A bumper year for Scotland
As well as the above route to Canada from Edinburgh, holidaymakers north of the border will enjoy local links to several new destinations this year. From May 25, British Airways will fly from Edinburgh to Olbia in Sardinia (weekly, from ￡176 return), and twice weekly to San Sebastian in northern Spain (twice weekly, from ￡164) – just in time for summer.
On Norway’s south-west coast, Bergen is another new wild card from Edinburgh: from June 20, Norwegian will fly twice weekly between the two cities. With mountains and fjords on its doorstep, this will be popular with hikers, climbers and cruisers.
Meanwhile in Glasgow, TUI will add a new weekly flight (on Saturdays) to Verona in May, putting Italy’s Como, Garda and Maggiore lakes within easier reach. This will be in addition to its existing Wednesday service, allowing for shorter trips and more flexibility.
Virgin Atlantic’s network is growing – again
Last year was a biggie for Virgin Atlantic, with new routes launching to Dubai, the Maldives and Turks and Caicos – and its network will expand even further in 2024. From March 31, it will start a daily service from Heathrow to Bengaluru – dubbed ‘India’s Silicon Valley’ for its tech companies, but also rich in temples and palaces. Return fares from ￡487.
Virgin will also step up its winter sun programme this year, with increased services to Barbados from Heathrow (twice daily) and Manchester (four times weekly), from October 27, 2024. Throughout summer, it will also boost its Heathrow–US routes, increasing its daily flights to New York JFK from six to seven (from ￡391 return), and daily flights to Boston from one to two (from ￡393 return).
