On Thursday (1 October), long-haul services to Johannesburg and Cape Town got under way, with South Africa ready to embark on a phased reopening to international visitors this month.

Bahrain flights have also resumed, while a new four-times weekly Heathrow-Lahore service – a first for BA – will launch on 12 October, heading off competition from Virgin Atlantic.

Flights to Grenada, meanwhile, are due to restart on 14 October, followed by the Seychelles on 16 October.

New Heathrow services to the Maldives and Barbados will launch over 16-17 October respectively.

A number of short-haul routes also resumed on Thursday, including Brussels, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Gothenburg, Milan (Linate), Stuttgart, Seville and Valencia.

Bilbao, Kefalonia and Luxembourg will resume on Friday (2 October) and Lanzarote on Saturday (3 October).

Others to follow later this month include Gran Canaria, Billund, Bordeaux, Basel, Brindisi, Cologne, Malta, Salzburg, Vienna and Zagreb.