LONDON- British Airways (BA) has announced a new nonstop route from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Fuerteventura Airport (FUE) in Spain’s Canary Islands, expanding its winter 2026 network from the UK’s busiest airport.
The new service marks the first time the airline will operate the route directly from Heathrow, strengthening its presence in one of Europe’s most popular winter leisure markets.
The twice-weekly service will begin on December 13, 2026, using the Airbus A320ceo. The route replaces British Airways Euroflyer’s planned London Gatwick Airport (LGW)-Fuerteventura operation, signaling the airline’s confidence in demand for the Canary Islands from its primary hub.
BA’s Heathrow Network Expands
British Airways currently schedules an average of 331 daily departures from Heathrow in 2026, accounting for just over half of all flights from the airport.
According to current schedules, the airline will serve 161 destinations from Heathrow during the second half of 2026, with Fuerteventura becoming the newest addition.
Flights will operate every Thursday and Sunday throughout the winter season. Thursday departures will leave Heathrow at 7:05 a.m. and arrive in Fuerteventura at 11:30 a.m., while return flights depart at 12:30 p.m. and land back in London at 4:50 p.m.
Sunday’s schedule features a 10:05 a.m. departure from Heathrow with the return leaving Fuerteventura at 3:40 p.m.
The move also shifts capacity away from Gatwick, where BA Euroflyer had planned to continue the same twice-weekly schedule.
Industry observers view the transfer to Heathrow as an indication that the route has performed well enough to justify operating from the airline’s premium hub despite higher airport operating costs.
Spain Winter Growth
The new service further strengthens British Airways’ Spain network from Heathrow. During the winter 2026-27 schedule, British Airways and Iberia will jointly operate 183 weekly flights between Heathrow and Spain, representing approximately 26 daily departures.
British Airways will account for 127 weekly flights, while Iberia will operate 56 services under their long-standing joint business agreement.
Combined capacity is expected to increase by 10% compared with the previous winter, driven primarily by British Airways’ network growth.
With the addition of Fuerteventura, British Airways will serve six Spanish destinations from Heathrow: Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, Tenerife South, and Fuerteventura.
Madrid remains the largest market, with 101 weekly departures shared between British Airways and Iberia, including several widebody services operated by Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A330, and Airbus A350 aircraft.
Canary Islands Demand
The new Heathrow route reflects continued strong demand for travel between London and the Canary Islands, particularly during the winter months when the Spanish archipelago offers one of Europe’s warmest climates.
Data from the UK Civil Aviation Authority shows that more than 517,000 round-trip passengers traveled between London and Fuerteventura during 2025.
However, Fuerteventura remains the smallest of the four major Canary Islands markets from London, trailing Tenerife South, Lanzarote, and Gran Canaria in total passenger traffic.
Despite that, Heathrow already generated more than 5,000 connecting passengers to Fuerteventura in 2025, most of whom traveled via Madrid on Iberia, Simple Flying flagged.
The launch of nonstop flights is expected to improve connectivity while reducing travel times for passengers departing from Britain’s largest international gateway.
The new route also increases competition in the London-Fuerteventura market, where airlines including easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, and TUI Airways already operate services from Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted airports.
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