Royal Brunei Airlines has announced a limited series of nonstop flights to London Gatwick Airport on its Boeing 787 aircraft this summer. The service will commence on July 22, 2025, and conclude on August 19, 2025, offering five round-trip flights during this period. This move is partly to fill a capacity gap left by reduced Heathrow frequencies which currently run thrice-weekly, down from pre-pandemic daily operations.
Gatwick has gained popularity with airlines recently, attributed in part to a perceived scarcity of slots at Heathrow. Six new airlines, including Royal Brunei, will launch services to Gatwick in 2025. Others include Air Sierra Leone, Beijing Capital, Gulf Air, Kenya Airways, and Uganda Airlines. Stewart Wingate, CEO of Gatwick, is leading the airport’s expansion efforts as it captures new opportunities in the aviation market.
The direct flights to Gatwick will cover 6,094 nautical miles each way, making it the longest nonstop route from Gatwick, and potentially the longest in its history according to Cirium Diio data. The route is set to outdistance previous features such as Norwegian’s Gatwick to Buenos Aires service.