British Airways to expand network as Middle East suspensions extended

British Airways has unveiled a 9% increase to its winter long-haul timetable for 2026 as it continues to operate additional Asia services in the short-term due to extended suspensions on Middle East routes.

The carrier last week confirmed it had cancelled Abu Dhabi services “until later this year” and had suspended other Middle East flights until “later this month”.

In a network announcement on Tuesday, it confirmed flights to Amman, Bahrain, Dubai and Tel Aviv would now be cancelled up to and including May 31, while flights to Doha are cancelled until April 30. Abu Dhabi services are due to return in October for the 2026 winter season.

BA also revealed it had added more than 3,300 seats on seven additional return services from London to Bangkok and Singapore between March 10 and 19 “to meet rising demand for these routes as a result of the situation in the Middle East”, adding it “continues to monitor its network closely to make adjustments based on where customers want to fly”.

It said its direct-sell tour operation had seen a boost in interest for the Caribbean and Indian Ocean destinations due to the conflict in the Middle East, while searches for Tenerife were up 38% and Gran Canaria up 50% on last year.

The airline reported similar trends, with searches for flights from the UK to the Caribbean, Southwest Pacific and South Asia increasing by 40% amid a 155% rise in searches for travel in the next two weeks.

The 9% increase in BA’s schedule against winter 2025 will see the addition of two destinations, Melbourne and Colombo, as well as additional flights to destinations including Cape Town, Tokyo Haneda, Bridgetown, Kingston and San Jose in Costa Rica.

Neil Chernoff, chief planning and strategy officer, said: “We’re delighted to announce sizeable growth to our flying schedule for winter 2026, including two notable new destinations that I’m confident will prove popular with our customers.

“We’re also increasing services across several high-demand routes around the world. Together, these changes represent a significant investment in our long-haul leisure network, adding even more options and choice for our customers.”

He added: "Elsewhere, we know there is short-term demand as a result of the situation in the Middle East.

“To support customers with alternative routes from popular destinations we have already launched additional flights, and we will continue to monitor customer demand and add flights to our schedule if we’re able to do so.”

Melbourne services will begin from January 9, 2027 and will operate year-round from Heathrow via Kuala Lumpur on a daily basis.

Flights to Colombo will begin on October 23 and will operate three times a week during the winter season only from Gatwick.

Other growth in the network includes a third daily flight from Heathrow to Cape Town from December, an increase in Tokyo services to double-daily from March, and a daily Gatwick-Barbados services from October 25 which will complement existing Heathrow flights.

Saint Lucia flights will become standalone services from October 25, while San Jose services will switch to Heathrow and operator five times per week.

In the US, New Orleans will increase to four flights per week, Baltimore will become daily and Houston will move to 12 flights per week.

An expansion in Delhi services introduced for the summer season will be retained, with three daily flights continuing in the winter.