British Airways to restart flights to two major cities for the first time in four years
BRITISH Airways has announced that it will resume flights to two hugely popular destinations this winter, for the first time in four years.
The British flagship carrier will be jetting off to both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur once again, after the two routes were scrapped during the pandemic.
The first of the pair to return will be BA’s trips to the Thai capital, with flights taking off three times a week from Gatwick in October.
The service will continue throughout the winter and into the summer, until April 27.
The airline is hoping to make the most of passengers looking to head off for some affordable winter sun during the UK’s colder months.
And those hopes could have been given a boost last month when Thailand announced that it would now be even easier for Brits to visit the country.
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) changed its entry rules, and visitors from the UK, along with 92 other countries, can now enter for 60 days at a time, without a visa.
Tourism is hugely important for the Thai economy, but according to the BBC, it is still struggling to recover from the pandemic.
As many as 17.5 million foreign tourists visited the country in the first six months of 2024, an increase of 35 per cent from the same period the year before.
However, that still isn’t as high as pre-pandemic levels, when up to 40 million people would visit each year.
Also, money made from tourists during that period was around the 858bn Thai baht (£18.3bn) mark, less than a quarter of the government’s expected tourism income.
TAT hope that the new visa-free rules, which started on July 15 this year, will increase those numbers and boost the economy once again and the new flights from BA could well help.
They airline said: “We’re returning to one of South-East Asia‘s most visited cities, Bangkok.
“From October 2024 you’ll be able to fly with us from London Gatwick to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.”
Elsewhere in South East Asia, BA is returning to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
Those flights will launch from London Heathrow on November 10, and will operate daily.
New British Airways flights this year
British Airways has also launched new flights from a small regional airport this year.
Two new flights have been announced from Southampton Airport, with BA City Flyer.
Brits can now fly from the airport in Eastleigh to both Bergerac and Majorca this summer.
This is in addition to Faro and Malaga, which already operated from Southampton with British Airways, as well as winter flights to Chambery.
Flights to Majorca start from £180 and flights to Bergerac can be found from £136.
Other British Airways routes from Southampton include Faro, Majorca, Edinburgh and Dublin.
Unlike the Bangkok flights, they will also operate year-round and won’t stop during the summer.
BA added: “From November 2024, we’ll be flying daily to Kuala Lumpur from London Heathrow.
“Kuala Lumpur’s head-turning skyline offers the best of both old and new, with skyscrapers, minarets and Mughal-style domes making up the architecture of the city.
“Begin your journey at the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. Then take a tour of Little India and Chinatown, neighbourhoods filled with busy markets and delicious street food.”
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