Virgin Atlantic has launched its first route to Saudi Arabia and confirmed plans to introduce flights to Seoul in 2026.
The UK-based airline has launched daily flights from London Heathrow to Riyadh on Wednesday (23 April), with the market for these services “expected to have a predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale”. Virgin Atlantic will operate Airbus A330neo aircraft on this route.
Virgin also announced that it would launch daily flights from Heathrow to the South Korean capital Seoul on 29 March 2026, using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
The airline has been granted slots at Heathrow to start a London-Seoul service from fellow SkyTeam member Korean Air as part of the latter’s merger with Asiana Airlines.
Virgin has already agreed a codeshare deal with Korean Air, which includes connections to 15 cities around the region from Seoul Incheon Airport. Further connections will be available via Seoul through other SkyTeam airlines.
Juha Jarvinen, Virgin Atlantic’s chief commercial officer, said: “While 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.”