Virgin Atlantic aims to resume passenger flights in late July, starting with five routes to North America and Asia.
The carrier's first planned flights will be to Orlando and Hong Kong from London Heathrow on July 20, though "we are monitoring external conditions extremely closely, in particular the travel restrictions many countries have in place including the 14-day quarantine policy for travelers entering the United Kingdom," according to Virgin Atlantic chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen. The next day, Virgin Atlantic plans to operate flights from Heathrow to each Shanghai, Los Angeles and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Virgin Atlantic over the next few weeks will announce additional destinations that will restart in August, Jarvinen said.
Flights will resume with additional safety measures, including enhanced cleaning efforts, distancing measures at check-in and boarding and personal health packs with facemasks, surface wipes and hand gel provided to travelers. "Our medical experts are working closely with all relevant U.K. and international health and aviation authorities to ensure we adhere to, and on many occasions exceed, the guidance they are offering, whilst continuously reviewing and updating the measures we have in place to keep our customers and teams safe," according to Virgin Atlantic chief customer officer Corneel Koster.