Virgin Atlantic to Launch Flights Between London Heathrow and Mumbai, India

Virgin Atlantic has confirmed plans to relaunch flights between London Heathrow and Mumbai, India.

The service will recommence on 27 October 2019, and will complement the airline’s long-established route between London and Delhi.

The daily flights, which will depart and arrive Heathrow in the morning to align with connecting passenger and cargo flows to and from US, will be operated on Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft, providing up to 26 tonnes of cargo capacity.

Juha Jarvinen, Executive Vice President, Commercial, at Virgin Atlantic, said, “2019 marks a significant period of growth for Virgin Atlantic and I’m delighted that we’re continuing to expand our route network once more, by returning to Mumbai. Until recently, we’ve been able to serve this important market through our partnership with Jet Airways, however, since Jet Airways has sadly suspended its operations, we now have an opportunity to provide alternative options for our customers and meet this demand.”

The new Mumbai flights mark Virgin Atlantic’s 27th daily service from London Heathrow and its third new route announcement this year.

Flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, are due to commence in September 2019, with flights to São Paulo, Brazil, starting in 2020, marking the airline’s first venture into South America.

Dominic Kennedy, Managing Director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said, “We have given our cargo customers direct access to the vibrant cargo market in India for 19 years and, in 2018, our cargo revenues ex India rose 10% as support grew for our daily Delhi flights. The Mumbai market is equally buoyant. In the last four years, the overall market from Mumbai to the UK and US has increased by more than 50% in revenue terms, alongside increases of 46% to India from both countries. When we resume Mumbai operations in October, we aim to win a strong share of this growing market, supported by our fast and easy connections over London to and from major cities across US and our enhanced capabilities for handling pharmaceuticals, one of the main types of shipments ex-Mumbai. More capacity is great news for our import and export customers.”

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