Virgin Atlantic to halt Dubai-London flights

British carrier Virgin Atlantic has announced it will withdraw flights between Dubai and London Heathrow from next year.

The airline said in a brief statement that the suspension was made after “conducting a thorough review of its network”, which found the route was “no longer economically viable”.

“It‘s never an easy decision to withdraw a route, and we’d like to thank our customers and dedicated team in Dubai for their loyalty over the last 12 years,” said Virgin Atlantic chief commercial officer Shai Weiss.

Virgin Atlantic launched its service between London Heathrow and Dubai in March 2006, with four times weekly flights that increased to five per week in May and daily from June 1.

During its launch, the emirate was the airline’s second largest long-haul route out of London.

Virgin said it would continue operating daily flights between Dubai and London Heathrow until March 31, 2019, with new bookings still available until the last flight.

The brand’s Holidays division will also still provide packages for Dubai after flights are halted.

The announcement comes weeks after Dubai carrier Emirates launched daily flights to London Stansted Airport.

Read: Emirates starts flights to London Stansted

With the addition, it now operates 10 daily flights from Dubai International to three different London airports.