British Airways reveals new flights from Heathrow to Corsica and Greece

Airline will use precious slots to fly to Bastia and Preveza

New port: BA starts flying from Heathrow to Bastia in northeast Corsica in May 2019 (Simon Calder)

British Airways has revealed the latest additions to its expanding network of Mediterranean destinations from Heathrow.

Bastia in northeast Corsica will served on Saturdays from 25 May to 28 September.

Preveza in northwest Greece gets flights on Wednesday and Sundays from 26 May to 29 September.

British Airways has the majority of slots at the UK’s busiest airport, and in summer – when demand for business travel is lighter – it deploys some of them on traditional Mediterranean destinations.

Corsica was the destination for the first proper package holiday from the UK by air in 1950, but since then the French island has become something of a niche destination.

While the new BA flights to Bastia are only weekly, they can be combined with flights to or from Ajaccio or Calvi.

Preveza is on the Greek mainland, southeast of Corfu and northwest of Kefalonia. It provides easy access to the island of Lefkada, as well as southern Albania.

Fares on British Airways from Heathrow are generally higher than from other London hubs, reflecting the high airport charges, but initially the prices are lower than the competitors.

On the first flight to Preveza, on 26 May, a one-way flight costs £119. From Gatwick the lowest fare is £292 on Thomas Cook, with easyJet charging £455 and Tui £512.

For the launch departure to Bastia, on 25 May, the lowest one-way fare is £99.