In changes to its flight schedule, Virgin Atlantic has temporarily paused flights to a major US holiday destination and has apologised to ‘any affected customers’
Virgin Atlantic has suspended flights to a popular US destination until next year.
As part of its winter schedule changes, Virgin Atlantic has temporarily suspended flights from London Heathrow to Seattle. The route will be postponed from 25 October 2026 until 27 March 2027.
However, holidaymakers can still travel to Seattle, known as the ‘Emerald City’, through its partner, Delta Air Lines. There will be daily services departing from London Heathrow throughout the season to explore the delights of Seattle, including its bustling Pike Place Market and iconic Space Needle.
In the same announcement, the airline confirmed it would also temporarily stop flights to Dubai during the 2026 winter season. Virgin Atlantic hopes to welcome back the route in March 2027, subject to safety evaluations and demand, as the FCDO currently advises against all but essential travel to the United Arab Emirates.
Yet the changes to Virgin Atlantic’s winter schedule will also see the arrival of daily routes to Cape Town, operating from 25 October 2026 until 27 March 2027, and additional services on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. There will also be daily routes to Johannesburg during the same winter season, plus three more services on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Due to evolving customer demand, we’re making some changes to our winter 2026 flying programme.
“We look forward to increasing capacity to South Africa with services to Johannesburg rising to 10 flights per week and Cape Town to 11 flights per week, offering customers greater flexibility and connectivity for winter sun to the region.
“Unfortunately, we have taken the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our seasonal service to Dubai for the winter 2026 season, while services to Seattle will also be temporarily suspended for the Winter 2026 season only, before resuming in March 2027. Customers can continue to travel to Seattle with our partner Delta Air Lines who will offer daily services from London Heathrow.
“We’d like to apologise to any affected customers and will be contacting them with their options which include rebooking or a refund.”
In other airline news, Jet2 issued a warning to its passengers about potential delays due to strike action. In a statement on Monday, 11 May, the airline said: “We wanted to let you know about strike action, supported by ACC Roma, an Italian Air Traffic Control company, which is taking place from 09:00 to 17:00 (local time) on Monday 11th May 2026, which may cause delays to flights arriving and departing Rome, Naples, Pisa, and Venice.”
Credits: Virgin Atlantic
