Virgin Atlantic will start new routes from Heathrow to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Accra, Ghana, next year.
Both routes will be on sale from September 12.
The two additions follow news that the airline will operate its first service to Canada in more than a decade when its Toronto flights commence on March 30, 2025.
Flights to King Khalid International airport in Riyadh will operate daily from March 30, 2025, on the airline’s A330neo aircraft.
Riyadh (pictured) is also home to the airline’s SkyTeam partner, Saudia, and the partnership will offer onward connections to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, with further destinations within Saudi Arabia and to Bangladesh and China to follow.
In May 2025, Virgin Atlantic will return to Ghana for the first time since 2013, with daily flights to Kotoka International airport in the nation’s capital, Accra.
More: Virgin Atlantic to resume Canada flights after decade-long pause
The airline said: “The UK is home to the third largest Ghanaian diaspora in the world and the new service will respond to demand to visit friends and relatives.
“Around 10% of customers are also expected to connect through London onto Virgin Atlantic’s New York JFK service.”
Launching on May 1, 2025, the daily Accra service will operate on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Juha Jarvinen, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Riyadh and Accra join Toronto as new routes for summer flying in 2025 and we see huge opportunities to connect friends, relatives and businesses with our new services.
“We’re also delighted to build on our codeshare with SkyTeam partner Saudia, further strengthening connectivity in the region, and beyond, and bringing new benefits to our loyal customers.
“We look forward to launching these new routes in 2025, introducing the iconic, inclusive Virgin Atlantic brand, award-winning experience and our amazing people to new customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ghana and Toronto.”
Pictured: Riyadh by Shutterstock