Virgin Atlantic shake-up: Edinburgh to Barbados dropped, daily Cape Town flights return

Virgin Atlantic has quietly dropped its flights from Edinburgh to Barbados after just a few months of operation.

The route started in December 2021. It was due to run until the end of the Winter season in March 2022 but was pulled early. The airline has now cancelled the route entirely.

If you are booked to travel on Virgin Atlantic from Edinburgh to Barbados this Winter, you will be rerouted via Manchester or offered a refund.

The other Edinburgh route flown by Virgin Atlantic – to Orlando – is continuing. It isn’t clear what this means for Virgin Atlantic’s strategy in Scotland, with flights from Glasgow cancelled in 2021 in favour of the high-profile switch to Edinburgh.

Cape Town returns

In more positive news, Virgin Atlantic will be relaunching daily flights from London Heathrow to Cape Town on 5th November.

It is scheduled to run until the end of March, using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This does not offer the latest generation of Upper Class suite – our last review of Virgin Atlantic Upper Class on a Boeing 787 is here. Rhys is due to fly this seat to Austin in a couple of weeks so an updated review will follow.

The daily year-round service to Johannesburg will continue.

Other Virgin Atlantic schedule changes

Aeroroutes notes a number of other schedule changes which were made last weekend. These are for the Winter season which kicks in from the end of October and are based on what was previously planned for the Winter:

• Antigua – increased from 3 to 4 weekly
• Bridgetown – increased from 8 to 10 weekly
• Los Angeles – reduced from 3 to 2 daily
• Montego Bay – increased from 2 to 3 weekly from mid December, with an increase from 2 to 4 weekly on the additional indirect service via Nassau
• New York JFK – reduced from 42 to 39 weekly
• Orlando – increased from 7 to 10 weekly
• Tel Aviv – reduced from 2 to 1 daily
• Manchester – Bridgetown – increased from 3 to 5 weekly from mid December

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.