British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to restart flights to China

shanghai flight

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a two-year absence for both airlines

British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic have started selling tickets for flights to China this year.

BA will begin flying daily to Shanghai on 23 April and to Beijing four times a week from 3 June. Virgin will resume its daily services to Shanghai from 1 May.

Both announcements came within a few hours of each other.

The news comes after China reopened its borders to travellers after nearly three years of restrictions.

Noella Ferns, BA Head of Sales for Asia Pacific, said: “We can’t wait to welcome our customers back on board our flights from Shanghai and Beijing.

“We know they’ve been looking forward to reuniting with family and friends, coming to study in the UK and resuming business between China and the UK.”

Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “The return of our Shanghai services has been a long-time coming and I’m delighted it’s finally a reality.

“Shanghai is the final route to return following the global pandemic, restoring our flying programme to full capacity.”