British Airways & Virgin Atlantic Celebrate US Reopening with Historic First Ever Dual Take-Off from Heathrow Airport

8th November 2021

  • Customers return to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights to the US on Monday 8 November as country relaxes entry requirements
  • It marks the first day since March 16, 2020 that the vast majority of UK nationals have been able to fly to the US
  • Airlines celebrated the easing of restrictions with a unique show of unity; a dual take-off of their first flights from London Heathrow to New York, JFK
  • Both carriers have campaigned for the safe return of transatlantic travel to ignite economic recovery and allow friends and families to reunite

Transatlantic rivals British Airways and Virgin Atlantic join forces today to celebrate the reopening of the US to UK nationals.

In recognition of a long campaigned for and pivotal moment for the travel industry, for the first time ever, the airlines will come together in a unique show of unity, taking to the skies in a synchronised departure on parallel runways at Heathrow. British Airways flight BA001, a flight number previously reserved for Concorde, and Virgin Atlantic flight VS3, operating on A350 aircraft, will both leave London Heathrow for New York JFK at 8.30am on Monday 8 November.

Reopening the transatlantic travel corridor more than 600 days since the US travel ban was introduced will provide a significant boost for the aviation industry, help both nations’ economic recoveries and re-establish vital business connections. The US is the UK’s largest trading partner, and aviation contributes £23m per day to the UK economy. In 2019, 22 million people travelled between the two countries, along with 900,000 tonnes of cargo.

Today’s change to US entry requirements follows the UK Government’s decision in the summer to lift quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated US customers when travelling to Britain. With world-leading vaccination programmes in the UK and US, customers on both sides of the Atlantic will finally be able to see loved ones again and explore new and familiar destinations after more than eighteen months of travel restrictions.

The British Airways A350 flight is being directly powered by a 35% blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provided by bp and made from used cooking oil. It is believed to be the first commercial transatlantic flight ever to be operated with such a significant level of the fuel blended with traditional jet fuel*.

The airline’s newest and most fuel-efficient long-haul A350 aircraft are up to 40% more efficient than the Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet aircraft that used to operate between London and New York. Combining this modern aircraft efficiency with today’s blend of SAF means the flight’s overall CO2 emissions are more than 50 per cent less than those emitted by the now retired 747 aircraft that previously operated on this route.

In addition, British Airways also offset all emissions associated with the flight, to demonstrate the various ways in which the airline is decarbonising its operations **.

In September, British Airways announced a collaboration with bp to source sustainable aviation fuel in respect of all flights between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh during the UK COP26 conference. British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group recently committed to operating 10% of its flights using SAF by 2030.

The lifting of US restrictions after more than 600 days means that fully vaccinated Britons are now able to travel freely between the two countries – something that has not happened since March 16, 2020. The changes have enabled British Airways to meaningfully re-start direct services to 17 US destinations. The airline is set to extend its services to 23 US airports this winter, with up to 246 flights a week, more than any other transatlantic carrier. Flights to New York will increase from five to eight per day in December. There will also be double-daily services to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Dallas, Miami and Toronto, as well as daily services to Philadelphia, Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, Houston and Vancouver.

British Airways is operating 26 flights to the US today.

UK Ambassador to the United States, Dame Karen Pierce DCMG, said:

“Today is an incredibly exciting and meaningful day for the UK-US relationship. We can all once again travel to each other’s countries to visit families, take holidays, and conduct transatlantic business. I am absolutely thrilled that safe and sustainable travel can fully resume between the UK and the United States.”

British Airways’ Chairman and CEO Sean Doyle, who is travelling on the BA001, said:

“Today is about celebrating the UK-US reopening of the transatlantic corridor after more than 600 days of separation, and it was fantastic to be able to mark this by synchronising the take-off of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights for the first time ever.

“While flying is vital to connect the world and support the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic, it’s important for us to use this moment to demonstrate how we’re driving our decarbonisation plans forward, and what the future will look like for aviation. That’s why we’ve directly powered our first flight to the US today with sustainable aviation fuel and offset emissions on behalf of our customers. We’re looking forward to the Government’s continued support to ensure the development and mass production of sustainable aviation fuel continues at pace.”

Four aviation decarbonisation projects supported by British Airways recently received Government funding as part of the Department of Transport’s Green Fuels, Green Skies (GFGS) competition. All of these projects have a clear potential to produce SAF capable of reducing emissions by more than 70% on a lifecycle basis when used in place of conventional fossil jet fuel***.