‍DALLAS – UK carrier Virgin Atlantic (VS), focused on long-haul premium passenger flights, announced a special cargo services campaign between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Brussels (BRU).

These will help to ease the transport of perishable goods and pharmaceuticals across the English Channel, which typically are moved by trucks. This program will start on October 27, 2024, and run for five months until March 29, 2025.

Juha Jarvinen, VS’ CCO said, “During the winter period, we will operate services to Brussels, a destination we are familiar with having flown there successfully during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering fast connections for our customers between Brussels and the wider European region.”

Operational Details of the Campaign

Virgin Atlantic confirmed that these flights will be operated by Airbus A330-300 and A350-1000 airframes, capable of loading up to 50 tonnes of cargo on each leg. The airline, however, did not confirm the schedules or frequencies of this campaign’s flights.

As of October 2024, VS operates a fleet of eight Airbus A330-300 jets and 12 units of the larger A350-1000. These airplanes are typically deployed on transatlantic routes from London-Heathrow and Manchester (MAN), rarely flying east toward Asia and Africa.

Apart from this dedicated program, Virgin Atlantic regularly uses its extensive long-haul network to transport urgent cargo to its commercial passenger destinations in the cargo holds of its widebody aircraft.