New flight routes in 2025 you need to know about

With so much of the world to explore, it can be difficult to know where to begin. But looking for direct, or one-stop, flights narrows down your options considerably, making that decision just a little bit easier.

Thinking ahead to your travels later this year? Here are all the new flights routes in 2025 to know about…

For those looking to see the northern lights (or Santa Claus), British Airways launched flights to Ivalo, Finland’s most northerly airport, from London Gatwich in December. And one to look forward to – the UK’s flag carrier airline will also be launching direct flights from London Heathrow to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, from 30 March.

Budget airline easyJet will be taking guests further than ever this summer, with the launch of flights from London Gatwick to Cape Verde, the airline’s first Sub-Saharan destination from 31 March. Over the summer, there will be a slew of new flights, including Birmingham-Gibraltar and Birmingham-Bordeaux, Bristol-Almeria and Bristol-Palermo, and Manchester-Milan Linate and Edinburgh-Milan Linate.

Those looking to explore Scandinavia and the Baltics should look to Norwegian, which is launching three new routes from the UK. Flights to Riga, Latvia’s capital, will start from London Gatwick on 30 March, while flights to Norway’s Ålesund will begin at the same airport from 11 April. Newcastle will get a new connection to Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, from 2 May.

Virgin Atlantic is giving travellers more options for Riyadh with the launch of a new route on 30 March, with the relaunch of the route to Accra in Ghana following on 1 May. Those looking to explore the Americas can head to Toronto, the airline’s first Canadian route in more than a decade, from 30 March, as well as Cancún in Mexico from 19 October. All flights depart from London Heathrow.

Looking to visit the Music City? Good news, as Aer Lingus is launching direct flights from Dublin to Nashville, Tennessee, from 12 April.

Air France added four new long-haul destinations between October and December: You can now fly Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, Manila in the Philippines, and Malé in the Maldives. All flights operate out of Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

Another one for those looking to explore the Arctic Circle, Finnair will be launching flights to Kirkenes from Helsinki via Ivalo from 30 March. The small town is known for its views of the northern lights as well as the Hurtigruten cruise that sails to Tromsø.

From Amsterdam Schiphol, KLM will be launching a number of new routes this summer, including San Diego from 8 May, Georgetown in Guyana from 4 June, and Hyderabad in India from 2 September.

TAP Air Portugal also resumed its flights between Lisbon and Manaus in Brazil in November.

Flag carrier Air Canada is launching a number of new destinations in summer 2025. For those headed to Europe, flights between Montreal and Naples, Italy, will start on 16 May and to Porto, Portugal, on 4 June. Toronto will get a direct connection to Prague, Czech Republic, from June 6; and Ottawa will get a new route to London Heathrow from 31 March.

American Airlines is also increasing connectivity to Europe, with flights from Chicago to Madrid from 30 March; from Philadelphia to Edinburgh and Milan from 23 May; from Charlotte to Athens from 5 June; and from Miami to Rome from 5 July.

You’ll soon be able to hop on a plane at LAX and head to Melbourne in Australia, with Delta launching the route from December this year.

JetBlue is adding a number of new destinations to its roster this summer, including Honduras’ San Pedro Sula and Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada. The former route will launch from New York’s JFK on 12 June, while the latter will operate out of Boston from 26 June.

United is opening up five new destinations not currently served by any other American airlines this summer. Operating out of Newark, flights to Palermo in Italy start on 21 May; to Bilbao in Spain on 31 May; to Nuuk in Greenland on 14 June; and to Portugal’s Faro on 16 May and Madeira Island on 7 June.

Those connecting to the rest of the world via the Middle East will have a number of new routes in 2025. From Dubai, Emirates has relaunched its service to Adelaide in Australia, operating daily.

If you’re yet to experience the newly opened Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways has given you plenty of excuses to with the launch of ten new routes. From 2 July, you can fly to Atlanta; from 7 September, to Taipei, Taiwan; from 2 October, to Medan, Indonesia; from 3 October, to Phnom Penh, Cambodia; from 9 October, to Krabi and from 3 November to Chiang Mai, Thailand; from 1 November, to Tunis, Tunisia; from 3 November, to Hanoi, Vietnam and Hong Kong; and from 7 November, to Algiers, Algeria.

Another option for those headed to Australia, Qatar Airways will relaunch daily flights to Canberra from December 2025.