Heathrow Airport has confirmed it is adding six new routes and welcoming two new airlines to its network ahead of the winter 2026-27 season, the airport said in a press release issued this week.
Two carriers are new to Heathrow entirely. XiamenAir began a three-times-weekly service between Xiamen, China and Heathrow on 6 September 2026, flying the route with a Boeing 787. The airline confirmed in its own launch announcement that the inaugural flight, MF821, carried 263 passengers into Heathrow, and aviation outlet AeroCorner reported the same schedule, with flights operating Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The second new entrant, Saudi carrier beOnd, is due to start three flights a week to the Red Sea destination in Saudi Arabia from 15 December 2026, with onward connections to the Maldives.
British Airways is adding three new routes. A daily service to Melbourne, via a stop in Kuala Lumpur, is scheduled to begin on 9 January 2027, marking the airline's return to the Australian city after more than two decades away. The start date and routing were also reported separately by Flightradar24 and Malay Mail, which confirmed the Kuala Lumpur stopover and the four-class Boeing 787-9 aircraft BA plans to use. British Airways will also launch five-times-weekly flights to San Jose, Costa Rica from 25 October 2026, and a twice-weekly service to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands from 13 December 2026.
The sixth new route, Virgin Atlantic's three-times-weekly service to Phuket, Thailand, already began on 18 October 2026 and was reported at the time.
Heathrow's Chief Customer Officer, Ross Baker, said the new airlines and routes gave passengers "even more choice" and showed continued demand from carriers to fly from Heathrow despite the airport running close to full capacity. The airport used the announcement to repeat its case for expansion, saying it needs more capacity to keep adding routes.
For passengers, the main practical change is more choice on long-haul and leisure routes this winter, including a rare direct option to Xiamen and a new one-stop link to Melbourne. Travellers booked on any of these new routes should check in with extra time over the winter period, when Heathrow continues to run close to capacity and has seen a string of delay days through October.
What this means for your journey: with more flights and fuller terminals expected this winter, it is worth planning your route to the airport in advance. See our public transport guide for Heathrow at /public-transport/ for the latest on rail, Tube and coach options.