British Airways launches four new Heathrow short-haul routes – Avios seats wide open

British Airways has announced four new short haul routes from London Heathrow for the winter season, which starts at the end of October.

To be more precise:

• there are three new routes
• there is one route new to Heathrow
• there are two summer routes which are now being extended into the winter season

Three brand new short haul routes

The following three cities are not currently served by British Airways but will see services resume:

• Belgrade
• Cologne (image above)
• Riga

You may be surprised that Cologne is not currently flown, but it isn’t. There was a London Gatwick route from 2018 until the start of the pandemic.

Riga is currently served from London Gatwick as a codeshare on the airBaltic service, but these flights are expensive and are not available for Avios redemption.

Here is the small print:

Belgrade

There will be three flights per week from Terminal 5, starting on 31st October. Services operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The route is currently only bookable for the winter season to the end of March but the intention is that it will become permanent if it performs as expected.

Cologne

There will be 12 flights per week from Terminal 5, starting on 30th October. The route will operate year-round.

Riga

There will be three flights per week from Terminal 5, starting on 29th October. Services operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The route is currently only bookable for the winter season to the end of March but the intention is that it will become permanent if it performs as expected.

One new route to Heathrow

Flights to Turin will launch from Heathrow on 10th December. Image above.

There will be just one flight per week (Sunday) from Terminal 5. The service will only operate until the end of March.

The existing BA Euroflyer service from Gatwick, with seven flights per week, will continue.

Two routes are extended into the winter

The existing summer routes to Ljubljana and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) are extended into the winter season.

Ljubljana will see four flights per week from Terminal 3, on Monday / Wednesday / Friday / Sunday.

Istanbul will see four flights per week from Terminal 5, on Monday / Thursday / Friday / Sunday.

Booking

Flights are bookable at ba.com now for cash or Avios.

To maximise your miles when paying, your best bet is the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card which earns double Avios (3 per £1) when you book at ba.com or via BA Holidays. 

You do not get double Avios if you book with the free British Airways American Express card, the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard or the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard.

Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

---

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.