British Airways scales back Gulf routes and boosts India and Africa services
April 10, 2026
British Airways is to redeploy its long-haul fleet away from routes serving the Middle EastMiddle East in favour of India and Kenya, amid plunging demand for air travel to the region and an unstable security situation following the US-Israel-Iran conflict.
Services from London Heathrow to key Middle Eastern destinations have been paused since the outbreak of fighting at the end of February.
The industry had hoped the impact of the war would be short-lived, the latest changes to the British Airways route map suggest the industry is planning for disruption to extend beyond the summer.
British Airways pivots away from the Gulf
In a schedule update on Thursday published by AeroRoutes, the airline revealed a pivot away from the Gulf amid uncertainty over a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, and an assumption that the disruption to aviation in the region will continue. The changes were decided before the ceasefire was agreed.
From 1 July 2026, services from Heathrow to Middle Eastern hubs will see notable reductions in frequency and capacity.
The Heathrow-Doha route will operate just one daily Boeing 777-200ER flight, down from a previous schedule of two daily services using a mix of 777-200ER and Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Similarly, the Heathrow-Dubai route is cut back significantly, with only one daily 787-9 service available instead of three daily flights operated by 777 and 787 aircraft.
Elsewhere in the network, the Heathrow-Jeddah route will see the cancellation of its five weekly 787-8/9 services effective 25 April 2026, with no operations planned across both 2026 and 2027.
From 20 May, Heathrow-Riyadh operations will be reduced to four weekly 777 flights instead of the previous two daily services, before transitioning to a single daily 787-9 service from 1 July.
British Airways has already delayed the resumption of Abu Dhabi flights until next winter.
Frequencies on routes to India and Kenya increased
Tied to these changes, the airline is adding a second daily flight from London Heathrow to Nairobi from 1 June. The route will be served with a mix of A350-1000 and B777-200ER aircraft.
British Airways is also adding a second daily flight to Bengaluru, starting on the same day.
A 787-8 replaces 777-200ER (on selected dates, a 787-9 will be used) on the existing daily flight, and from 1 June, when the new second daily flight starts, that will be serviced by a 787-8 and on selected dates a 787-9.
On the Heathrow-Mumbai route, the third daily rotation (BA199/198) will be temporarily suspended from 9 May to 14 May 2026, shortening the previously planned suspension period.
The Heathrow-Delhi route is also being upgraded. Until 31 May, the route will see an increase from two to three daily flights. The third daily flight is scheduled to return from 19 September.
From 1 June, the BA143/142 service will be operated by the larger A350-1000, replacing the 777-200ER.
The revised schedule runs until 24 October, which is the start of the northern hemisphere winter season.
British Airways’ winter 2026 network changes
The changes follow a major update to British Airways schedule last month, when the carrier announced an expansion to its network for winter 2026, with the addition of two new destinations, Melbourne in Australia and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
In addition, the airline said it would be adding more flights for winter to Cape Town, Tokyo Haneda, Bridgetown (Barbados), Kingston (Jamaica) and San José in Costa Rica.
The airline said its new schedule was a 9% growth in the long-haul route network.
Featured image: British Airways
