British Airways is set to return to Guernsey for the first time since 1980, launching an unusually short hop from London Heathrow that clocks in at just around an hour. The new service marks the carrier's comeback on a route last operated 45 years ago and reopens one of the UK's most historic but often-contested regional links.

The flight, which will begin on April 19, reconnects Heathrow with the Channel Islands after decades of sporadic service from various airlines. Over the years, carriers including Air UK in the 1980s and 1990s, and more recently Flybe, have served the route. Flybe's operation lasted just 12 months before its collapse in March 2020. BA CityFlyer also previously operated connections to Guernsey from London Gatwick, until withdrawing the route in 2003.

Local airline Aurigny has long maintained services from Guernsey to both Gatwick and London City, though the latter may now face pressure from BA's entrance into the market.

The Heathrow-Guernsey link has always been politically sensitive due to the island's reliance on air connectivity for both tourism and business.

According to earlier reports, Flybe received around £825,000 in subsidies to operate the route during its brief tenure, a scheme aimed at boosting Guernsey's economic ties with the UK's busiest airport.

But this time, Guernsey's senior political committee voted against offering British Airways a similar financial sweetener. Even so, some level of logistical or financial support is still expected behind the scenes, given that the route is widely understood to be loss-making without incentives.

BA's decision to launch the new service comes shortly after cutting four other London routes, though the airline is also expanding elsewhere, including a new service to Tivat. Slot-management strategy also appears to be a key driver.

Guernsey's famously short runway, at just 4,800 feet, limits aircraft choices and forces BA to deploy its smallest mainline jet, the 123-seat Airbus A319.

The new service appears tailored more toward leisure travellers and visitors, especially those taking advantage of the simple, short journey from the UK's main hub airport.

British Airways' new service will depart Heathrow for Guernsey at 11:55am, arriving just an hour later at 12:55pm, before making the return journey from Guernsey at either 1:45pm or 1:50pm and touching back down at Heathrow between 2:50pm and 2:55pm.