NEWS: British Airways new destinations and additional frequencies, Middle East update and Qatar extends status

British Airways announces new destinations and increased frequency for Winter 2026

British Airways has announced a significant planned expansion to its network for winter 2026, with the addition of two new destinations, Melbourne in Australia and Colombo in Sri Lanka.  For Avios collectors, this means a much better chance of being able to get tickets to Australia on Avios if you are planning on visiting the East Coast. Melbourne is only a short flight from Sydney if that is your intended destination. They are also including first class on this route which gives another destination to try it on.

If the prices are the same as Sydney, the Avios prices for Club should be:

• 187,000 Avios + £399.50 peak
• 159,500 Avios + £399.50 off-peak

BA will also be moving its Costa Rica to San Jose service from Gatwick to Heathrow starting from 25 October 2026. The Gatwick service is due to end on 28 March. Tampa will also move from Gatwick to Heathrow from 25 October. The current Gatwick to Tampa service will end on 24 October 2026.

BA will also be adding more flights for winter to other popular destinations for Avios collectors. There will be more flights to Cape Town (South Africa), Haneda (Tokyo), Bridgetown (Barbados), Kingston (Jamaica), and San Jose (Costa Rica), which represents a 9% increase in flights for BA this winter. The increase in Barbados flights will come from Gatwick to Bridgetown, which launches on 25 October. You can find all the details of the new services, including aircraft types, times, and frequencies, in the tables below. 

These planned new routes and frequency growth for winter 2026 are in addition to short-term capacity increases to destinations as a result of the situation in the Middle East. British Airways added seven extra return services to Bangkok and Singapore in the last week and will continue to review its schedule and add additional flights to destinations as needed. 

Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ 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. 

“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.” 

WINTER 2026  schedule details

Melbourne, Australia 

British Airways will start flights to Melbourne in Australia from 9 January 2027, launching in time for the Australian Open and the Melbourne Grand Prix. Flights will operate year-round from London Heathrow, via Kuala Lumpur, on a daily basis.  

Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria, and is known as the country’s culture hub and world-renowned for its coffee scene. It’s also the gateway to southern Australia and its array of attractions including Grampian’s National Park, the Great Ocean Road and the High Country. 

Customers have a choice of four cabins – World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy), Club World (business class) and First. Return fares start from £1,130 (including taxes and carrier fees) and are on sale from 17 March. Both legs of the flight look to be on a B787. The date I looked at was still showing old Club World, which was disappointing. The B787 upgrade to Club Suites is supposed to be completed this year, but obviously, that is not guaranteed.

Colombo, Sri Lanka 

Launching on 23 October 2026, British Airways will fly three times per week from London Gatwick to Colombo, the vibrant gateway to Sri Lanka.  

The route will operate for the winter season only. 

Customers have a choice of three cabins – World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and Club World (business class). Return fares start from £620 (including taxes and carrier fees) and are on sale from 17 March. 

Frequency increases

• A third daily flight from London Heathrow to Cape Town, South Africa, will start in December 
• London Heathrow to Haneda in Tokyo, Japan increases to double daily from the end of March, and continues throughout the winter schedule 
• A daily Barbados flight from London Gatwick will commence on 25 October, a new route that will complement the existing London Heathrow service to the Caribbean island, and will have onward tags to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago 
• There is more dedicated capacity to St Lucia in the Caribbean, as daily flights become a standalone service from 25 October 
• San José in Costa Rica increases to five per week, and moves to London Heathrow 
• Kingston in Jamaica and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, both served from London Gatwick, will go up to four per week 
• To the US, New Orleans increases to four per week, Baltimore becomes daily and Houston moves to 12 per week 
• Delhi continues to be served three times a day, as the frequency growth introduced at the start of the summer season remains in place 
• London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi will return for its planned winter schedule, operating daily from 25 October 

Full list of frequency additions for winter 2026 

The final schedule is still subject to scheduling and slot constraints.

Middle East cancellations from BA and additional services to the Far East

British Airways also announced that flights to the following destinations will be cancelled until at least 31 May due to the ongoing conflict:

• Amman
• Bahrain
• Tel Aviv
• Dubai

Doha flights are now cancelled until 30 April. Qatar Airways has said it plans to increase flights to Doha from Wednesday, 18 March.

Short-term capacity 

British Airways has also introduced seven additional return services from London to Bangkok and Singapore over recent weeks, to meet rising demand for these routes as a result of the situation in the Middle East. 

The airline has added more than 3,300 extra seats between 10 and 19 March for customers travelling to and from these destinations and continues to monitor its network closely to make adjustments based on where customers want to fly. 

Qatar promises status extensions for those affected by the cancellations

In happier news, Qatar Airways has quickly stepped up and offered status extensions to those affected by the closure of Qatari airspace from 28 February. The email from the CEO, Hamad Al-Khater, is a little vague, but says that they will offer tier status extensions for all members whose status was due to be renewed and may have been affected during this period. If you are eligible, you should be contacted by email shortly.

If you have British Airways status, there has been no word on status extensions for those who have not made the required points due to Middle East cancellations. I doubt we will see a blanket approach here since the Middle East is only a small part of its network. However, if you have just missed out on status due to a cancelled flight, it is always worth asking. BA has been offering free status renewals to people who have stopped spending money with them, but currently seems to be ignoring others who have continued to spend but not reached their usual tier.