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Updates to our winter 2026 flying programme


Posted: 6th May 2026

 

We are making changes to our winter 2026 flying programme as cargo and passenger demand continues to evolve across the network.

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The changes will bring increased capacity to South Africa, with more services to both Johannesburg (JNB) and Cape Town (CPT), while services to Dubai (DXB) and Seattle (SEA) will be temporarily suspended for the winter 2026 season.

Increasing frequency to South Africa

From 25th October 2026 to 27th March 2027, Virgin Atlantic will increase flying to South Africa, giving customers more choice, greater flexibility and additional cargo capacity into the region.

  • Johannesburg (JNB) will operate 10 flights per week, with a daily service on an Airbus A350-1000 and three additional weekly services on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday ex-UK on a Boeing 787-9.
  • Cape Town (CPT) will operate 11 flights per week, with a daily service on a Boeing 787 and four additional weekly services on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday ex-UK.

 

Temporary suspension of Dubai and Seattle

We have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our seasonal winter service to Dubai (DXB) for the winter 2026 season. We intend to resume the service for winter 2027, subject to safety assessments and demand. The FCDO is currently advising against all but essential travel to the United Arab Emirates.

Seattle (SEA) will also be temporarily paused for winter 2026 only, before returning for summer 2027. Customers can continue to book shipments to and from Seattle with our partner Delta Air Lines, which operates a daily service between London Heathrow and Seattle.

 

We understand these routes are important to our customers and are sorry for any impact the changes may have on your cargo operations.