British Airways has 62 passenger routes next week – all bookable – along with cargo-only services. Yet, it’ll have just 7% of the flights it had before coronavirus struck, acutely demonstrating the importance of opening up UK aviation. Where will it be operating?

British Airways has 62 routes bookable next week, analyzing its website shows. Of these, 56 are from Heathrow, four from London City, and two from Gatwick. Its City routes are by its subsidiary, BA CityFlyer.

In all, BA has 276 departures that week, equivalent to just 39 departures a day. BA is operating just 7% of the flights it had in the same week in 2019. Then, it had 3,892 weekly departures and 556 a day.

Like all airlines serving the UK, BA's eyes are firmly on May 17th. This is the earliest date when non-essential international travel may be permitted. Emphasis is on 'may,' as it is not yet certain if it will be, which only adds to the uncertainty, difficulty of planning, and lower consumer confidence. Even if May 17th is confirmed, that's just one part of the story. Testing and quarantining will still be required, with testing needed even for 'green' countries.

The B777-200ER remains a crucial long-haul workhorse for BA. Abuja, Accra, and JFK are the top routes for the type next week. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Europe

Just over half of BA's routes (32) will be across Europe, as shown below. And just over half (54%) of its departures will be within this region.

This includes 10 domestic services from Heathrow and City. This isn't much of a surprise, given how domestic travel has remained stronger than international during this pandemic. Indeed, BA's 10 domestic routes have 102 weekly departures or nearly four in ten (37%) of its total system-wide.

With 21 weekly departures each, the domestic heavyweights of Heathrow to Edinburgh and Glasgow are by far the highest of all routes operating next week. Today, the new Flybe has secured Heathrow slots for 25 weekly flights to Edinburgh and 18 to Aberdeen.

Six Europe routes will be once-weekly next week, including Heathrow to Inverness. Image: GCMap.

32 Europe routes

  • Heathrow - Edinburgh: 21 weekly departures
  • Heathrow - Glasgow: 21
  • Heathrow - Aberdeen: 18
  • Heathrow - Belfast City: 10
  • Heathrow - Manchester: 8
  • Heathrow - Newcastle: 7
  • London City - Belfast City: 7
  • London City - Edinburgh: 5
  • Heathrow - Jersey: 4
  • Heathrow - Milan Linate: 4
  • Heathrow - Larnaca: 3
  • Heathrow - Nice: 3
  • Heathrow - Berlin: 3
  • Heathrow - Gibraltar: 3
  • Heathrow - Geneva: 3
  • Heathrow - Rome Fiumicino: 3
  • Heathrow - Malaga: 3
  • London City - Frankfurt: 3
  • Heathrow - Barcelona: 2
  • Heathrow - Copenhagen: 2
  • Heathrow - Dublin: 2
  • Heathrow - Stockholm: 2
  • Heathrow - Munich: 2
  • Heathrow - Amsterdam: 2
  • Heathrow - Athens: 2
  • London City - Dusseldorf: 2
  • Heathrow - Faro: 1
  • Heathrow - Tirana: 1
  • Heathrow - Inverness: 1
  • Heathrow - Lisbon: 1
  • Heathrow - Hamburg: 1
  • Heathrow - Venice: 1
BA 787
Nashville and New Orleans see the B787. As will San Jose next year. Photo: Tom Boon - Simple Flying.

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The Americas

16 routes across the Americas are bookable with 69 departures. There are no services to South America, with Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo all restarting later in the year.

Nine of the 16 routes are to the US, with JFK the joint-first, with this airport remaining the US' top for long-haul despite coronavirus. JFK now has seven departures, down from 56 in the same week in 2019, comparing with OAG data reveals. Unlike other regions, flights to the US don't increase much come May 17th, hindered by the US putting the UK in its 'avoid all travel' list.

  • Heathrow - New York JFK: 7
  • Heathrow - Los Angeles: 7
  • Heathrow - Dallas: 7
  • Heathrow - Miami: 7
  • Heathrow - Washington Dulles: 7
  • Heathrow - Toronto: 7
  • Heathrow - Boston: 7
  • Heathrow - Seattle: 4
  • Heathrow - Mexico City: 4
  • Heathrow - San Francisco: 3
  • Heathrow - Houston: 3
  • Gatwick - Antigua: 2
  • Heathrow - Bermuda: 1
  • Heathrow - Barbados: 1
  • Heathrow - Grand Cayman: 1
  • Gatwick - Cancun: 1
The B787-9 is BA's main aircraft to the Americas next week. In 2019, it was the B747-400. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Africa, Asia, and the Middle East

Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have the fewest routes (14) and the fewest departures (56). Although India is on the UK's 'red list' from surging coronavirus cases, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai are still bookable.

  • Heathrow - Lagos: 7
  • Heathrow - Accra: 7
  • Heathrow - Abuja: 7
  • Hong Kong - Heathrow: 7
  • Heathrow - Tel Aviv: 7
  • Heathrow - Mumbai: 3
  • Heathrow - Tokyo Haneda: 3
  • Heathrow - Bahrain: 3
  • Heathrow - Islamabad: 3
  • Heathrow - Cairo: 2
  • Heathrow - Lahore: 2
  • Heathrow - Delhi: 2
  • Heathrow - Bangalore: 2
  • Heathrow - Hyderabad: 1
BA is operating Heathrow-Accra once-daily and will next week too. Image: RadarBox.com.

Hong Kong is also bookable by passengers, but only to Heathrow. The route is currently primarily mainly for freight. Johannesburg, which is normally one of BA's core long-haul routes, is not bookable by passengers, but is still operated daily for cargo reasons.

Will you be flying BA this year? Comment below!