British Airways Australian flights: London to Melbourne route announced, with tickets on sale from Tuesday

British Airways has announced a “significant expansion” amid turmoil in the Middle East, with a new daily flight route to Australia confirmed and tickets going on sale from Tuesday.

The airline and Melbourne Airport confirmed the news on Tuesday, announcing flights from London to Melbourne would take off from early 2027.

British Airways will operate daily services from Melbourne to London via Kuala Lumpur, with a four-class Boeing Dreamliner 787-9, featuring First, Club World (business class), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy) cabins.

“British Airways has announced a significant planned expansion to its network for winter 2026, with the addition of two new destinations, Melbourne in Australia and Colombo in Sri Lanka,” a British Airways statement said.

The airline, which last week pulled the majority of flights to and from the Middle East, some until later in 2026, said the move comes amid holidaymakers looking for more options away from the conflict zone.

For Aussies, this means there is now even more competition in the market for flights from Australia to Europe, with British Airways being the only UK airline flying direct to Australia.

Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ chief planning and strategy officer, said: “We’re delighted to announce sizeable growth to our flying schedule for winter 2026, including two notable new destinations that”

“I’m confident it will prove popular with our customers. We’re also increasing services across several high-demand routes around the world.

“Together, these changes represent a significant investment in our long-haul leisure network, adding even more options and choice for our customers.”

The flights are scheduled to be up and running for the Australian Open.

Flights will operate year-round, on a daily basis.

Melbourne Airport chief executive Lorie Argus said the announcement underscored Melbourne’s place as Australia’s largest and best-connected 24-hour gateway.

“We are thrilled to welcome British Airways back to Melbourne Airport and we’re incredibly excited about what this extra choice means for travellers and exporters,” she said.

The move will likely be welcomed by the Australian tourism industry, with more holiday-makers now set to arrive.

“The average daily international service injects around $190 million into the Victorian economy each year, which is why it’s so important that we continue to attract and support more services such as this to Melbourne,” Ms Argus said.

The first flight of the route will leave London on January 9, arriving in Melbourne on January 11, with the departing Australia to London flight leaving Melbourne on January 11.