Virgin Atlantic makes 'difficult decision' to cancel Riyadh service

Virgin Atlantic has cancelled its Heathrow-Riyadh service due to the “evolving” situation in the Middle East.

The carrier said in a statement that it “continues to make dynamic assessments to its flying programme” and as a result, it has “taken the difficult decision to cancel” the Saudi Arabian route.

Virgin Atlantic will continue to serve Saudi Arabia through its codeshare and SkyTeam partner, Saudia, which operates services between Heathrow, Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as Manchester to Jeddah.

The airline paused Riyadh flights on March 7 and the Foreign Office continues to advise against all but essential travel to Riyadh.

It said it is planning to return to Dubai for the winter 2026-27 season, subject to safety assessment and provided there is sufficient demand.

However, the network review means that extra services are being added elsewhere for summer 2026.

In India, it will increase services to Bengaluru from seven to 13 flights per week. This complements double-daily, year-round services to Mumbai and Delhi.

Capacity to Mumbai will also increase, with the VS358/359 flights operating on an A350 aircraft, rather than a B787, adding 30% more seats.

As demand returns to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa, services to Montego Bay will increase from four flights per week to daily from June 1 throughout the summer season.

Services to Las Vegas will also grow, increasing from seven to 10 flights per week from August 31, driven by strong demand in September and October.

Dave Geer, chief commercial officer, said: “We have loved flying to Riyadh and are very sorry for the disappointment this change will cause.

“We know this route has been important to many of our customers, and we’re truly grateful for their support.

“We’re pleased to be offering increased flying to our three largest markets – the USA, Caribbean and India – to help meet this demand.

“Customers booked to travel to Riyadh will be contacted with their options, including rebooking onto an alternative carrier or receiving a refund.

“We remain committed to the region and will continue to offer connectivity to Saudi Arabia through our partnership with Saudia.”