Virgin Atlantic is to launch year-round flights from London Heathrow to Tampa from this November, marking the first service to the Florida city from the London airport.
It will mark Virgin’s third service to Florida; it already operates up to four daily flights to Orlando and a double-daily frequency to Miami from Heathrow.
Virgin will begin the service on 3 November, initially four times a week, before moving to daily from 28 November.
British Airways has long served Tampa from London Gatwick, while Norwegian also operated the route for two years before dropping its long-haul transatlantic flights.
Virgin Atlantic chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen says: ”Florida is very much a firm favourite for our customers ever since our first flight to Miami back in 1986. The region has a booming economy with high profile businesses moving to the area and many budding entrepreneurs registering start ups in the city.
Tampa will be Virgin’s second new US destination this year, the carrier having begun Heathrow flights to Austin in Texas in May. Cirium schedules data shows Virgin currently serves 11 US destinations from Heathrow.
