Virgin Atlantic’s Lagos route to resume August 24th
International carrier Virgin Atlantic has disclosed that it will resume it’s passenger flights to 17 additional destinations from August 2020 including Lagos to London Heathrow which will start on the 24th of August.
This was contained in a statement reported by thetravelport.com.ng, in which it stated that the Lagos to London Heathrow will provide connections to a range of US destinations.
The statement read: “We are also delighted to announce that when we return to Lagos we will be doing so on our new A350-1000 aircraft which is packed with innovation, thoughtful features, and unmistakable Virgin Atlantic flair. From our new enhanced social space to extra storage, and our latest entertainment system, there’s so much to look forward to”, the statement added.
The airline also added that London Heathrow to Hong Kong, New York JFK and Los Angeles would also resume from 20th and 21st July 2020.Virgin Atlantic also disclosed more detailed plans of passenger flights to many destinations across the airline’s network.
The airlines Chief Commercial Officer, Juha Jarvinen while adding on the statement said: “As countries around the world begin to relax travel restrictions, we look forward to welcoming our customers back onboard and flying them safely to many destinations across our network. From 20th July we will resume services to New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong then from 1st August onwards, we will resume passenger flying to 17 additional destinations around the world including Lagos, Tel Aviv, Atlanta, Mumbai and Las Vegas,”
“However, we are monitoring external conditions extremely closely, in particular the travel restrictions many countries have in place including the 14 day quarantine policy for travellers entering the UK. We know that as the Covid-19 crisis subsides, air travel will be a vital enabler of the UK’s economic recovery. Therefore, we are calling for UK Government to continually review its quarantine measures and instead look at a multi-layered approach of carefully targeted public health and screening measures, including air bridges, which will support a successful and safe restart of international air travel for passengers and businesses.”
Virgin Atlantic planned return to flying from London Heathrow Terminal 2 (subject to change and dependent on travel restrictions)
Planned restart date Routes21st July 2020 Hong Kong, New York JFK, Los Angeles – London Heathrow.
1st August 2020 Barbados – London Heathrow4th August 2020 San Francisco – London Heathrow5th August 2020 Shanghai – London Heathrow10th August 2020 Tel Aviv – London Heathrow18th August 2020 Miami – London Heathrow24th August 2020 Lagos – London Heathrow25th August 2020 Atlanta – London Heathrow
1st September 2020 Boston, Washington, Seattle, Las Vegas – London Heathrow2nd September 2020 Mumbai, Delhi – London Heathrow15th September 2020 Johannesburg – London Heathrow1st October 2020 Antigua – London Heathrow2nd October 2020 Montego Bay, Grenada (via Antigua) – London Heathrow 4th October 2020 Tobago (via Antigua) – London Heathrow.
Revealing the details further, Virgin Atlantic said it will operate temporarily from Terminal 2 at Heathrow, due to HAL’s terminal consolidation. Virgin Atlantic will return to its much-loved home at London Heathrow Terminal 3 when demand at Heathrow grows, enabling Terminal 3 to reopen
The Sir Branson owned airline according to reports has taken the difficult decision to cancel some services for the remainder of the summer 2020 season and seasonal services from Glasgow and Belfast to Orlando will now resume for selected dates in summer 2021. We will continue to monitor our network on an ongoing basis and expect further flights from London Heathrow and Manchester to resume in September and October 2020.
It revealed that to ensure the health and safety of its customers and our people, Virgin Atlantic is implementing additional measures to offer peace of mind in the airport and when taking to the skies. These include enhanced and thorough cleaning practices at check in, boarding gates and onboard including the use of electrostatic spraying of high-grade disinfectant onboard in all our cabins and lavatories, ensuring no surface is left untouched.
Safe distancing will also be adhered to wherever possible, particularly at check-in and boarding and where not possible, masks will be required.
“We will provide a personal Health Pack for the wellbeing and comfort of all our customers, which will contain medical grade face masks as a requirement to be worn onboard, surface wipes and hand gel.
In the short term, to minimise contact, we will also be offering a simplified hot food service in Economy and Premium Economy, enclosed from preparation in a Covid-safe, monitored environment directly to our customers’ seats. Upper Class customers will receive a choice of hot meals and desserts, including cheese & biscuits, which will be delivered to their seat on a tray” the statement added.
Virgin Atlantic like other international airlines are gearing up for a recovery of the lost revenue’s since the global shutdown due to the ravaging COVID19 with many tourists and travellers expected to explore the new plans.
