Virgin Atlantic to begin Seoul flights from March 2026

Virgin Atlantic is to launch its long-awaited daily flights to Seoul in March 2026, with its first service from Heathrow due to depart on March 29.

The carrier flagged plans to fly to the South Korean capital in March 2023, and later unveiled a codeshare with Korean Air.

 Virgin Atlantic services will fly on the airline’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft and will go on sale on May 14.

The route was confirmed as Virgin began services to Riyadh, which it anticipates will prove popular with business and VFR travellers and will have a “predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale”.

Unique service elements on the flights include Arabic coffee being served in the pre-departure drinks service, Halal meals being available throughout, and the Travellers Prayer played before the safety video.

The airline has also created a ‘Riyadh core crew’ which has undertaken specialist training to become experts in Saudi culture. 

Juha Jarvinen, chief commercial officer, said: “Whilst 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.”

He added: “Providing seamless connections to our customers is a real focus and by leveraging the power of our commercial cooperation with Korean Air, Saudia, IndiGo and Riyadh Air, customers can trust Virgin Atlantic to connect them to where they need to be, enjoying a premium customer experience, delivered by our amazing crew.”