New Heathrow Flights To Tivat And Guernsey From 2026

Key points
- British Airways will add new direct Heathrow flights to Tivat and Guernsey in 2026 with seasonal and year round schedules
- Tivat flights start 14 May 2026 from Heathrow Terminal 3 operating three days a week through the summer season into a market that saw 2.6 million tourist arrivals in 2024
- Guernsey flights begin 19 April 2026 from Heathrow Terminal 5 with daily year round service and the only non stop Heathrow link to the island
- Both routes support connections to more than 20 European cities plus North American destinations and offer a Club Europe option on all flights
- British Airways Holidays is packaging hotels in Tivat and Guernsey with sample deals for late summer 2026 that include checked bags and breakfast on selected stays
Impact
- Where Impacts Are Most Likely
- London based travellers and those connecting through Heathrow gain new non stop options to Montenegro's coast and the Channel Islands from spring 2026
- Best Times To Fly
- Tivat is available only on selected summer season days so shoulder season dates in May and September may offer better availability while Guernsey can be used year round including for weekend trips
- Connections And Onward Travel
- Travellers should plan ground transfers from Tivat Airport into Kotor and Budva or from Guernsey Airport into St Peter Port and coordinate Heathrow connections onto Europe and North America using minimum connection times
- What Travelers Should Do Now
- Travellers interested in either route should register for fare alerts or use low fare calendars for flights from 19 April and 14 May 2026 and compare stand alone flights with British Airways Holidays packages
- Seasonal Capacity Limits
- Because Tivat only has three flights a week from Heathrow and Guernsey uses relatively small aircraft travellers should book key summer weekends early and avoid relying on last minute seats
New Heathrow Tivat Guernsey flights will give travelers more options from London in 2026, as British Airways adds direct services from April 19 and May 14 2026. The new routes link London Heathrow Airport (LHR) with Tivat Airport (TIV) on Montenegro's Adriatic coast and Guernsey Airport (GCI) in the Channel Islands, affecting leisure travelers, weekend breakers, and business passengers who use Heathrow as a hub. Travelers choosing these services should think about how the seasonal Tivat schedule and daily Guernsey flights fit into summer and shoulder season plans, and build in time for connections at Heathrow.
The change brings two niche but high potential destinations into Heathrow's short haul network, with Tivat operating three times a week in the summer and Guernsey running as a daily year round route, giving travelers new non stop options and easier through connections via Heathrow.
Tivat, Montenegro, As A Seasonal Adriatic Option
British Airways will start Heathrow to Tivat flights on 14 May 2026, operating from Terminal 3 with three weekly departures on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays during the summer season. The airline will use flight numbers BA 624 and BA 625, with morning departures from Heathrow and early afternoon returns from Tivat that are timed to work for same day arrivals into hotels along Montenegro's coast. Launch fares start from about £172.00 (GBP), plus taxes and carrier fees, for a return ticket in Euro Traveller.
For Montenegro, the new link arrives on the back of sustained tourism growth. Official statistics from the Statistical Office of Montenegro show that in 2024 the country welcomed about 2,606,854 tourist arrivals and 15,594,299 overnight stays, with foreign visitors accounting for around 96 percent of nights. Coastal destinations such as Tivat, Kotor, and Budva capture a large share of those stays, and Tivat Airport already handles more than one million passengers a year in a traffic pattern that is heavily concentrated between May and September.
For travelers, the appeal is straightforward. Tivat sits in the Bay of Kotor, with quick access by road or boat to Kotor's UNESCO listed old town, the beaches of the Budva Riviera, and national parks such as Lovcen and Durmitor for hiking and rafting. The new Heathrow service gives London based travelers a direct route that avoids connections through regional hubs, and also offers a simpler journey for visitors from North America or Asia connecting via Heathrow to Montenegro, where flight options have historically been limited compared with better known neighbors.
Because the route is seasonal and only three times per week, capacity will be tight around school holidays and peak summer weeks. Travelers planning multi stop trips that combine Montenegro with neighboring Croatia or Albania should pay attention to which days the Heathrow flights operate, since that will shape whether it is easier to arrive or depart via Tivat, and whether they might need to route one leg through Podgorica or a regional hub if seats sell out.
Guernsey Gains A Daily Heathrow Link
Guernsey will join the Heathrow network earlier in the season, with year round flights starting 19 April 2026. British Airways plans to operate one daily round trip between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Guernsey using flight numbers BA 1344 and BA 1345, leaving Heathrow late morning and returning early afternoon. The airline describes this as the only direct service between Heathrow and Guernsey, and notes that schedules are timed to support onward connections to more than 20 European destinations such as Rome, Madrid, and Geneva, plus transatlantic flights to cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto.
Guernsey Airport is the main gateway to the Bailiwick of Guernsey and already handles several hundred thousand passengers a year on routes to the UK mainland, Jersey, and a small number of European destinations. Bringing Heathrow into the mix means travelers from the island will be able to connect in a single stop onto a global long haul network, while visitors from Europe and North America will gain a relatively simple path into the Channel Islands without routing through London Gatwick or smaller regional airports.
On the ground, Guernsey is marketed around its 28 miles of cliff paths, sheltered bays, and historic sites such as Castle Cornet, which has guarded St Peter Port for more than eight centuries. British Airways highlights experiences like the Renoir Walk, which links viewpoints painted by the artist, alongside opportunities for sailing, kayaking, and coastal hiking. For weekend trips from London, the midday timing should allow travelers to arrive in time for an afternoon check in and coastal walk on day one, then fly home after lunch on the final day, especially outside peak school holiday periods.
Fares, Cabins, And Holiday Packages
Both Tivat and Guernsey flights will offer British Airways' Club Europe short haul business class, which includes access to Heathrow's lounges, a blocked middle seat on narrowbody aircraft for extra space, a full meal service with drinks, and an increased checked baggage allowance compared with economy. For travelers aiming to work on board or to arrive rested for meetings or onward travel, this can be a useful upgrade on relatively short sectors where cabin differentiation still matters.
The airline is also pushing British Airways Holidays packages. For Tivat, sample deals include seven nights at the five star SIRO Boka Place from around £979.00 (GBP), about $1,290.00 (USD), per person including return economy flights from Heathrow and one checked bag, plus a local tourism tax of about €7.00 (EUR), about $8.00 (USD), payable on arrival. For Guernsey, the press material promotes two night stays at the four star Fermain Valley from about £329.00 (GBP), about $430.00 (USD), per person including return flights and breakfast on selected dates. Packages like these can make sense for travelers who value ATOL protection or prefer a single contract that bundles hotel and flight.
Independent travelers might prefer to book flights directly and combine them with apartments or smaller guesthouses, especially in Montenegro where local accommodation ranges from high end marinas to simple seaside rooms. In Guernsey, where room inventory is more constrained, British travelers used to flying via Gatwick may want to compare fares and timings from both London airports, especially during peak summer demand.
Planning Around Seasonality And Connections
The main planning challenge with these new routes is not disruption risk but seasonality and limited frequencies. Tivat's three weekly pattern will not work for every itinerary, and travelers may still need to consider flying one leg into Dubrovnik or Podgorica and returning from Tivat or vice versa. Because tourism demand into Montenegro continues to grow, with official data showing millions of annual arrivals and a strong skew toward seaside resorts, flights in late July and August are likely to be heavily booked.
Guernsey's daily year round schedule offers more flexibility, but aircraft size and slot constraints at Heathrow mean that the route will still have finite capacity. Travelers connecting from long haul flights should avoid very tight minimum connections when using Heathrow as a hub, particularly in summer when security queues and weather related flow restrictions can lengthen transit times. Building a buffer of at least two to three hours between long haul arrivals and Guernsey departures is prudent, especially when itineraries include separate tickets or complex onward ground travel from St Peter Port.
Overall, the additions underline British Airways' strategy of filling gaps in the Heathrow network with short haul routes that support both standalone leisure demand and high value connecting traffic, following other recent moves such as the planned St Louis launch and new flights to Graz. Travelers who have been waiting for a direct Heathrow link to Montenegro's coast or to Guernsey now have concrete dates to work with for their 2026 plans.
Sources
- British Airways expands its Heathrow network with two new short-haul destinations for summer 2026
- Arrivals and overnights of tourists, total 2024, Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT)
- Tourism in Montenegro, statistics by year
- Tivat Airport (TIV) profile
- Guernsey Airport (GCI) profile
- GBP to USD mid-market exchange rate
- EUR to USD exchange rate history 2025