Thursday, December 26, 2024

Virgin Atlantic axes routes from the UK to four holiday hotspots – including two sunny Caribbean destinations

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Virgin Atlantic has shaken up its schedule by announcing two Caribbean routes will be axed starting early next year.

The flights currently go from London Heathrow and will be replaced by increased frequency to other destinations. This comes as routes to China have been changed.


The final flights from London Heathrow to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos will take place in February next year.

This means anyone booked to fly on the affected routes will need to make other arrangements and the company will be in touch with those passengers.

Routes to Shanghai will change

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This comes as a part of ongoing reviews of courses made by the airline. It will increase other routes at the same time, with more flights going to Antigua, Barbados and Cape Town.

A spokesperson said: “As we continue to focus on optimising our network, we regularly review the destinations we fly to.

“We’ve made the decision to increase our frequencies to Antigua, Barbados and Cape Town next year, and to suspend operations to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

“We’re very sorry for the disappointment caused to our customers flying to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, and anyone booked to travel on these routes from February 24 and February 22 respectively will be contacted with their options.”

Increased flights will run to Antigua four times a week during winter 2024/25, and Barbados will run 10 services per week, until April 30.

Flights will travel from the UK to Cape Town for an extra month, also finishing at the end of April 2025. This comes as routes to Beijing and Shanghai will stop in October.

A Virgin spokesperson said: “Significant challenges and complexities on this route have contributed to the commercial decision to suspend flying to Shanghai.”

Flights to Beijing will cease temporarily while the cost of avoiding Russian airspace has increased.

Customers can rebook their flights for a later date or receive a refund if they were scheduled to fly after that time.

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Cape town South Africa

More flights will go to Cape Town

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In other travel news, Britons will need to pay a new fee when travelling to 30 European countries starting in 2025.

They will be charged €7 (around £5.96) for a visa waiver and holidaymakers in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain are among those affected.

An official website of the European Union reads: “The rules of travel to most European countries have changed. Starting in the first half of 2025, some 1.4 billion people from over 60 visa-exempt countries are required to have a travel authorisation to enter 30 European countries for a short stay.”

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