The top UK airport tipped to get new Virgin Atlantic flights – the first time in four years
BUSINESSMAN Sir Richard Branson hopes to see Virgin Atlantic flights return to a top UK airport for the first time in four years.
The Virgin Atlantic founder expressed his desire to return to Gatwick Airport after flights were shelved during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson hopes to see Virgin Atlantic flights return to Gatwick Airport[/caption]Speaking to the Sunday Times, the Virgin boss explained that he wanted flights to resume at Gatwick Airport.
Branson told reporters: “It matters – it’s where we started. I will twist arms.”
The London airport is where the airline’s very first flights, from the English capital to New York, launched nearly 40 years ago on June 22, 1984.
According to Travel Weekly, Virgin Atlantic has kept the ownership of some of its Gatwick Airport slots, meaning there is a possibility flights could return to the airport.
While new Virgin Atlantic routes haven’t been confirmed from Gatwick Airport, the airline has been launching other services across the country.
Just last week, the airline launched a brand-new route from Manchester Airport to Las Vegas.
Flights between the two destinations started operating on June 2, 2024.
The weekly seasonal service will operate every Sunday, with the direct flight taking 10 hours and 35 minutes.
Outbound flights will leave Manchester Airport at 9.50am before arriving in Las Vegas at 12.25pm local time.
Return flights will depart from America at 2.40pm, landing at Manchester Airport the following morning at 8.20am.
Tickets are already on sale for the service, with Return Economy flights starting from £856.12 per person.
Earlier this year, the airline also launched a new route from Heathrow Airport to Bangalore, India.
The new service invited passengers to explore the cultural diversity, and culinary delights of the “Silicon Valley of India.”
Last year, hundreds of thousands of passengers travelled to the city from Heathrow.
OTHER NEW ROUTES
Virgin Atlantic isn’t the only airline launching a new long-haul routes from the UK, with Norse Atlantic Airways also announcing the launch of a new service.
Earlier this year, the budget airline revealed that it would be launching a new route from London Gatwick to Las Vegas.
The route will be launching from September 12, with one-way fares starting from as little as £163, while return fares will start from just £399 in economy.
Other Norse flights from the UK include:
- London Gatwick to Barbados
- London Gatwick to to Los Angeles
- London Gatwick to to Miami
- London Gatwick to Orlando
- London Gatwick to Washington.
And Sun reporter Amanda Devlin recently tried out Norse Atlantic Airways – here’s her review.
Other new flight routes launching from the UK
There are plenty of other new routes launching from the UK to destinations Brits might not have considered travelling to before.
- Later this year, the UK flag carrier will launch a brand-new direct service between London Heathrow and Tromsø in Norway.
- Budget airline Norse Atlantic Airways is launching new transatlantic flights from London Gatwick to Las Vegas, and it’s the first time the London airport will have flights to the US city.
- Norse Atlantic Airways will also operate new routes from London Gatwick to Cape Town this winter.
- EasyJet has launched new flights from Glasgow Airport to Larnaca in Cyprus and Enfidha in Tunisia.
- Lufthansa City Airlines will have flights between Birmingham and Munich from June.
Meanwhile, Ryanair and TUI will both be launching services from from Bournemouth Airport.
And Jet2 confirmed Bournemouth Airport would become its 12th UK base, with 16 new flights to launch from the airport next summer.
The London airport is where the airline’s very first flights in the 1980s[/caption]