British Airways has laid out a busy 2027, with seven new or returning international routes spanning Norway, Greece, Italy, Croatia, France, Australia and Tanzania — and for once they're not all funnelled through Heathrow.
The two Heathrow additions are the headline acts for London-based travellers. From April 15, BA returns to Bergen, Norway's fjord-and-cruise capital, with five weekly Airbus A319 flights (Heathrow's slot scarcity explains the slightly patchy timetable). It's a revival rather than a debut: BA served the route from 2012 to 2017, having picked it up from bmi, and it will face just one London competitor next year — Norwegian from Gatwick.
Then, from May 20, Skiathos gets Heathrow service for the first time, three times weekly on an A320neo, replacing BA CityFlyer's London City route that has run since 2017. The Greek island is famous among planespotters for its low approach over a public road — often dubbed Europe's St Maarten. With the switch, Heathrow will offer nonstop flights to 12 Greek destinations, a clear signal of where premium leisure demand is heading.
Three more routes come via BA CityFlyer and its all-Embraer E190 fleet, cleverly using aircraft that would otherwise sit idle while London City closes at weekends. A weekly London City–Perugia service starts May 1 (taking over from the Heathrow route launched in 2022), giving the docklands airport a fourth Italian city. From May 15, weekly flights link Edinburgh with Split, Croatia, and Glasgow with Nice — a rare win for Scottish travellers wanting direct southern-Europe summer options without backtracking through London.
The long-haul news is bigger still. BA will resume Heathrow–Melbourne from January 9 after a 20-year gap, flying daily 787-9s — but this time routing via Kuala Lumpur rather than Singapore, following oneworld partner Finnair's recent Melbourne debut. And Tanzania is back on the map: from May 29, a three-weekly Gatwick 777-200ER will operate a Kilimanjaro–Zanzibar triangle, BA's first Tanzanian service since it dropped Dar es Salaam in 2013. Choosing safari-gateway Kilimanjaro and the spice-island beaches of Zanzibar over a business-oriented capital says a lot about who BA is now chasing.
Why it matters: if you've been waiting for a direct Heathrow–Skiathos option, weekend departures from Scotland to the Mediterranean, or a one-stop way to Melbourne that skips Singapore, 2027 is your year. Book early on the weekly routes — Split, Perugia and Nice from Edinburgh or Glasgow will have limited seats each Saturday and Sunday, and Tanzania's dual safari-and-beach itinerary is easiest to build around the fixed three-weekly pattern.
