London Heathrow Reveals 7 Major New Long-Haul Destinations: See Routes Now

Credit: Simple Flying Published Oct 10, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Journalist – Aaron is an aviation and travel journalist with 14 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. His background spans airport operations, aviation infrastructure, and travel consulting, having worked with global organizations across New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Combining industry expertise with firsthand travel experience across more than 52 countries and five continents, Aaron covers airlines, airports, aviation policy, and the wider travel sector. He is based in Canterbury, New Zealand. His work has been published in Simple Flying and featured by MSN, SAM CHUI Aviation & Travel, EIN News, Pakistan Defence, and Climate Depot. Sign in to your Simple Flying account One of Europe's busiest airports, London Heathrow Airport (LHR), is in the process of adding seven new routes, stretching as far as Asia, North America, and Australia. Many of these are brand new, including exciting links to Costa Rica and Thailand. Using data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Simple Flying decided to dive into what these new routes mean for Britain's busiest airport, and which airline is flying where. Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe for international departures, ahead of Paris (CDG), Frankfurt (FRA) and Istanbul (IST). British Airways Returns To Melbourne After Two Decades Credit: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock Perhaps the most exciting in this analysis is British Airways' return to Australia's second-largest city. The airline will launch a new one-stop daily service to Melbourne Airport (MEL) via Kuala Lumpur (KUL) from January 2027. The airline previously served Melbourne up until 2006, where it provided a one-stop routing via Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). British Airways' second Australian destination joins the existing Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) service, which is operated daily via Singapore. These are the only two British Airway destinations in all of Oceania. Loading map… Drag to explore Alongside British Airways, Qantas will also begin one-stop flights to London via Perth International Airport (PER) from October. These services will operate daily via its Western Australia hub, which, with the Boeing 787-9, has the range to reach Europe nonstop. Destination Airline Frequency Aircraft Notes Melbourne (MEL) British Airways 1x Daily from January 2027 Boeing 787-9 Stopover in Kuala Lumpur (KUL) Melbourne (MEL) Qantas Airways 1x Daily from October 2026 Boeing 787-9 Stopover in Perth (PER) Credit: Ceri Breeze | Shutterstock The United Kingdom's second-largest long-haul airline, Virgin Atlantic, will add a brand new route from Heathrow to Phuket (HKT). The airline will launch the service on October 18, and will mark the first time the popular Thai destination is served from Heathrow. The leisure carrier TUI Airways already maintains a nonstop service from London Gatwick (LGW), so Virgin's launch of its own Phuket connection will be the second airline to offer the service from Greater London. The route will be served by Virgin three times a week onboard the 787-9. Earlier this year, British Airways added a new four-weekly service from Heathrow to Lambert St Louis International Airport (STL). The route marked the first time that an airline operated the service nonstop from Heathrow. British Airways plans to increase the service to a daily frequency from next year, and it is operated by the 787-8. Destination Airline Frequency Aircraft St. Louis (STL) British Airways 4x Weekly since April Boeing 787-8 Phuket (HKT) Virgin Atlantic 3x Weekly from October Boeing 787-9 San Jose (SJO) British Airways 5x Weekly from October Boeing 787-8 San Jose (SJO), Costa Rica, will also be added by the end of the month, beginning on October 25. British Airways will fly the route up to five times a week on the 787-8: it has switched the route from previously being served from Gatwick. XiamenAir & Pakistan International Airlines Return To London Heathrow Airport Credit: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock In March, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) returned to London Heathrow for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier had faced a number of regulatory bans that limited its operations due to safety concerns relating to fraudulent licenses held by pilots. This ban was lifted in 2025. Destination Airline Frequency Aircraft Lahore (LHE) Pakistan International Airlines 2x Weekly Boeing 777-200ER Islamabad (ISB) Pakistan International Airlines Up to 5x Weekly Boeing 777-200ER Xiamen (XMN) XiamenAir 3x Weekly Boeing 787-9 PIA resumed services from Lahore (LHE) twice weekly, and Islamabad International Airport (ISB) up to five times a week. Both services are operated nonstop on the airline's 777-200ER. Rounding out the list is XiamenAir, with the Chinese carrier adding its first regular operation between Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN) and London. The route is served up to three times a week with the 787-9.