New UK Route Roundup: What's Coming to British Airports, and it's Not Just London!

Right, let's talk about some genuinely interesting route news coming out of UK airports. There's a decent mix here – from Norwegian giving Scotland some love, to Emirates going absolutely mental on Heathrow frequencies.

Norwegian: Edinburgh to Billund (From 3 April 2026)

Norwegian is launching a new route from Edinburgh to Billund starting 3rd April 2026. Now, I know what you're thinking – where is Billund? And if you do know, then Billund isn't exactly the most glamorous destination, but hear me out. It's Legoland's home airport, and it's a solid gateway to western Denmark.

The schedule is a three flights per week, with departures from Edinburgh at 1:15pm on Wednesdays and 1:45pm on Mondays and Fridays. Returns from Billund arrive at 1:05pm on Mondays and Fridays, with a Wednesday service landing slightly earlier at 12:05pm. Those Friday and Monday flights are in my opinion, perfectly timed for a long weekend break.

Emirates: London Heathrow to Dubai Frequency Increase (Winter 2025/26)

This is the big one. Emirates is adding six more weekly flights between Dubai and Heathrow for Winter 2025/26, taking them from 42 to 48 weekly services. That's a full seven flights per day – basically running an airborne shuttle service between the two airports, which is absolutely bonkers. Add this into the four daily flights to Gatwick, and another two to Stansted, bringing the collective London total to 90 weekly flight between Dubai and London, and that's before you had in the flights of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

This just shows you how important the UK-UAE market is, and honestly, having this much capacity means award availability should improve. Fingers crossed, anyway.

IndiGo: Manchester to Delhi (From 15 November 2025)

Ever heard of India's largest airline? IndiGo are launching Manchester to Delhi from 15th November 2025, which is brilliant news for the North. Four flights per week with the Manchester departure leaving late morning at 11:15am, landing the next day in Delhi in the early hours of the morning at 2:10am.

The inbound from Delhi leaves brutally early at 4:05 AM, getting you into Manchester at 9:30am, in time to get you back into work at lunchtime (if you're tight on annual leave). It's a proper red-eye service, are you going to take a kip, or caffeinate through it?

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IndiGo: Heathrow to Mumbai (From 26 October 2025)

If that wasn't enough, IndiGo are launching Heathrow to Mumbai. Using some slots leased from Virgin Atlantic, IndiGo will be flying this route daily leaving Heathrow late evening at 9:30pm, arriving into Mumbai the next day at 11:45am. For the return leg, that will depart Mumbai mid-afternoon at 2:45pm, arriving into Heathrow at 7:20pm, well timed for you to go straight to bed! Like all long-haul IndiGo flights, these flights are being operated using Norse Atlantic aircraft and crew, in a Premium Economy/Economy split, with a few IndiGo tweaks. If you're curious what to expect on board, Helena flew Norse Atlantic in Premium Economy back from JFK and had some great things to say!

Pakistan International Airlines: Manchester to Islamabad (From 25 October 2025)

Pakistan International Airlines is resuming Manchester to Islamabad service from 25th October 2025. Twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays, departing Manchester at 6:00pm and getting you into Islamabad the following morning.

Inbound flights from Islamabad depart at lunchtime 12:20pm and arrive into Manchester at 4:00pm the same day. This comes as PIA's UK ban had been lifted due to the institutional faking of pilot licenses at the airline (read more here).

Wizz Air: London Gatwick to Tel Aviv (Resuming 29 March 2026)

Finally, Wizz Air is resuming London Gatwick to Tel Aviv from 29th March 2026. The daily service leaves Gatwick at 1:50pm, arriving 8:55pm local time. The return is a bit late for some, departing at 9:50pm and getting you back past midnight at 12:10am, but luckily trains run through the night at Gatwick.

Not the most sociable timing on the return, but it does mean you can maximize a day in Tel Aviv before flying home. And let's be honest, Wizz pricing will probably make this the cheapest way to get to Israel from London by a country mile.

The Bottom Line

The Emirates frequency increase is the standout for me – more capacity almost always means better award availability and potentially lower fares when they need to fill seats. The India and Pakistan routes to Manchester continue the trend of regional UK airports getting proper long-haul connectivity, which is exactly what we need, adding capacity away from the slot constrained airports of London is good for all.

Sam

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