British Airways Now Offers Direct Flights from London to Aruba

For the first time, British Airways is now offering direct flights from London to Aruba in the Caribbean.

On Sunday afternoon (26th March), BA flight 2157 from Gatwick landed at Queen Beatrix International airport in Oranjested, the capital of Aruba.

Using a three-cabin Boeing 777-200, BA will fly the route twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays through Antigua. Club (business), World Traveller Plus (premium economy), and World Traveller are the available cabin classes (economy).

Flights from Gatwick will land in Aruba at 5 p.m. local time. Return flights from Aruba will leave at 6.30 p.m. and land at Gatwick at 10.25 a.m. the following day. The duration of the flight, including the brief stopover in Antigua, is 11 hours 30 minutes.

The new service, according to Aruba’s tourism minister Danguillaume Oduber, is a “significant milestone in the history of Aruba’s tourism industry”.

“We are thrilled to welcome the inaugural British Airways flight from London,” said Oduber. “And we are excited to strengthen our connection to the UK market with this new flight.”

Arelis Spanner, a member of the BA crew who was born and raised in Aruba, felt particularly honored to be a part of the first event. She remarked, “I’m very glad British Airways is operating flights to my home nation, and getting to take part in the inaugural trip has been an incredible homecoming.

The carrier’s connections to the Caribbean, according to Julian Welham, senior vice-president of BA for the Americas, have never been stronger. “We’re proud to be the only airline to offer direct flights from Aruba to London,” he added.

The new route, according to Ronella Croes, chief executive of the Aruba Tourist Authority, would “open many new doors” for the destination in the UK and around Europe and encourage annual growth in the number of UK tourists.