Virgin Atlantic permanently axes London to Tel Aviv route
April 30, 2025
Virgin Atlantic is understood to have terminated its London Heathrow to Tel Aviv service, which had been suspended since October 2023 due to regional instability.
Passengers can still access the route through Virgin’s codeshare partnership with EL AL Israel Airlines.
Most European and American carriers have returned to Israel since the war started.
“After careful consideration we have taken the difficult decision to cancel our services between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv,” an airline spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Virgin has been contacted for comment.
Last week, the carrier announced the addition of two new destinations to its network: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Seoul, South Korea.
Starting March 30, 2025, Virgin Atlantic will commence daily flights from London Heathrow to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. This marks the airline’s inaugural service to Saudi Arabia.
Discussing the new route on LinkedIn, Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said: “Our new service is launching in time to participate in Saudi Vision 2030 and ensuing growth. In my first visit in September last year, I had the chance to witness first-hand how the KSA is transforming rapidly, including an expanded downtown business district and UNESCO World Heritage site in Diriyah. It is truly a country and city in transformation.”
Virgin Atlantic is set to launch a new route to Seoul, South Korea.
Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer commented: “Whilst Virgin Atlantic has long been known as the carrier of choice across the Atlantic and transatlantic travel remains core to our business, we are incredibly excited to expand our network in the east with the announcement of new services to Seoul starting in March 2026.
“Building on new flying to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, five flights a day to India, as well as our seasonal leisure services to The Maldives and Dubai, we’re delighted to offer customers the opportunity to fly in style to a wide range of destinations.”
