British Airways has added Lapland to its list, and checked it twice, as it prepares to launch new flights to Santa Claus’s home region this winter.
Departing from London Gatwick, new twice-weekly flights will launch on December 3, 2024 and fly customers to Ivalo, which is home to Finland’s most northerly airport.
Ivalo is a village on the Ivalo River in Lapland, located in the Arctic Circle. It welcomes visitors from all over the world, particularly during the winter months, to enjoy cold weather and Christmas activities. It is known as a gateway to Saariselkä, a resort village attracting those who enjoy winter sports from skiing and snowmobile safaris to toboggan rides and snowshoeing.
Flights will be operated by BA Euroflyer, British Airways’ short-haul subsidiary based at London Gatwick’s South Terminal. Customers can take skiing or snowboarding equipment as part of their checked baggage so long as the bag is within 190 x 75 x 65cm.
Ivalo joins Tromsø in Norway, which was announced last week as a new route to join the winter schedule from London Heathrow this December.
| Ivalo Airport (IVL) from London Gatwick (LGW) – All times are local – Aircraft: A320 | ||||||
| Days | Flight number | Departing LGW | Arriving IVL | Flight number | Departing IVL | Arriving LGW |
| Tue and Fri | BA2860 | 08:35 | 14:30 | BA2861 | 15:30 | 17:30 |
In addition to Ivalo, BA Euroflyer has also launched new flights to Larnaca, Cyprus. Flights will operate daily* for the winter season from November 4, 2024 as morning departures, returning in the late afternoon. This means that Larnaca will be served by both London Heathrow and London Gatwick for winter, offering customers a wider choice of departure airports for winter sun.
BA Euroflyer operates in a similar manner to the company’s existing subsidiary, BA Cityflyer, flying under the British Airways brand and delivering the premium British Airways service customers know and love. The issuance of an individual Air Operator’s Certificate and Operating Licence for BA Euroflyer enables the airline to begin the transition of aircraft, flight crew and cabin crew to the wholly owned subsidiary, which is based at London Gatwick.
British Airways launched BA Euroflyer on March 29, 2022, when the airline began operations under the British Airways Air Operator’s Certificate. The launch of BA Euroflyer marked the return of international short-haul flying from London Gatwick following the Covid-19 pandemic. This summer, customers flew to more than 30 destinations across the network – including Amsterdam, Santorini and Marrakech and hundreds of new flight crew, cabin crew and office-based colleagues have joined the BA Euroflyer team.