British Airways axes more Southampton flights for Summer 2023 – what’s left?

For the second time in recent months, British Airways has taken an axe to its flying schedule out of Southampton Airport.

Some HfP readers may be surprised to know that British Airways runs a relatively large number of routes out of Southampton.

The launch of these services got caught up in the pandemic (the original announcement was made in December 2020) so they have never had much of a promotional push. The initial route launches were, in many cases, heavily delayed or suspended altogether. There is – was – a full service planned for Summer 2023.

EDIT: The original version of this article said that start dates for Southampton flights had been pushed back to mid July. Whilst flights seemed to have temporarily disappeared from the booking system yesterday, they are still operating. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. We have listed the start dates below.

Southampton Airport was, as the picture below shows, a major Flybe base before the airline collapsed. The BA services are a welcome respite for the airport which lost virtually all of its scheduled services at that point, although many routes have been picked up by other airlines since.

The BA flights use the Embraer E190 aircraft which serve London City Airport during the week but have nothing to do when City is closed over the weekend.

Which routes were pulled in October?

Back in October, three routes from Southampton were cancelled for Summer 2023. The cancelled routes are:

• Florence
• Ibiza
• Nice

To this list you can now add:

• Mykonos

(But don’t panic – if you search Southampton to Mykonos on ba.com, you are offered Southampton to Glasgow (Loganair) to London Gatwick to Heathrow to Mykonos, a trip taking almost 20 hours.)

What British Airways routes remain at Southampton?

Here is the list. Some of the routes below only have one departure per week. You are locked into a seven night trip unless you fly back to a different British Airways airport or fly back to Southampton on a different airline.

• Alicante
• Bergerac
• Dublin
• Edinburgh
• Faro
• Limoges
• Malaga
• Palma

When do flights start?

The current start dates for 2023 are:

• Faro – 29th April
• Malaga – 30th April
• Bergerac – 13th May
• Palma – 13th May
• Edinburgh – 14th May
• Alicante – 15th July
• Limoges – 15th July
• Dublin – 16th July

What routes does BA fly from Southampton over the Winter?

Not many, but there is some life!

• Chambery (ends 16th April)
• Edinburgh (ends 16th April)
• Salzburg (ends 15th April)

Southampton is a good airport for Londoners ….

Many Londoners have probably never flown from Southampton. It is, however, surprisingly easy.

You can get a direct train from London Waterloo to Southampton Airport Parkway station. You will be in the small terminal building within a couple of minutes.

Is there a lounge? Yes. Here is our review of the Spitfire Lounge at Southampton Airport.

Is there Business Class? Yes, Business Class is available. As these are Embraer aircraft with 2×2 seating, however, there is no ’empty middle seat’ benefit. You would get access to the Spitfire Lounge.

Flights are bookable as usual via ba.com, for cash or Avios.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.