British Airways Adds Three New European Routes for Summer 2026: Saint-Tropez, Sardinia & San Sebastián

British Airways has just announced three new European routes for summer 2026, operated by its regional subsidiary BA Cityflyer. The new destinations include flights to Toulon Saint-Tropez (a brand new destination for British Airways), Olbia in Sardinia, and San Sebastián in Spain – all launching from different UK airports.

This brings BA Cityflyer's route map to almost 30 destinations across Europe, and these additions are squarely aimed at the summer leisure market. Let's break down what's on offer.

Here's a quick summary of what's coming:

All three routes are seasonal summer services operated on Embraer 190 aircraft, and all include a Club Europe business class cabin.

This is the standout announcement for me. Toulon Saint-Tropez is a completely new destination for British Airways – not just BA Cityflyer, but the entire BA network. The airport is just 30 miles from Saint-Tropez, making it the closest airport to this iconic French Riviera destination.

The route operates twice weekly from London City Airport, which is ideal if you're in central or east London. You can realistically be kerbside to airside in under 15 minutes at City, and central London is just 22 minutes away via the Elizabeth Line.

Flight times look reasonable too – the Saturday departure leaves at 07:00 and arrives at 10:00 local time, giving you most of the day on the Côte d'Azur. The Tuesday service departs at 15:50.

Toulon Saint-Tropez becomes BA Cityflyer's fourth French destination, joining Nice, Bergerac, and Chambéry.

Sardinia has been experiencing a tourism boom – the press release notes that overnight stays hit a record 18.9 million in 2024, up 38% from 2023. BA is clearly responding to this demand.

The new Stansted route complements existing BA services to Olbia from London City and Heathrow. Combined, BA Cityflyer will fly to Olbia up to five times per week from London City and twice per week from Stansted during summer 2026.

Stansted is an interesting choice – it's generally cheaper to park at and easier to navigate than Heathrow, and serves a different catchment area in the East of England and north London. If you're in that part of the country, this could be a more convenient option than trekking across to Heathrow or into the City.

San Sebastián is famous for its world-class cuisine – it has one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars per capita in the world – and its beautiful beaches. BA Cityflyer already flies there from London City and Edinburgh, and now Glasgow gets direct access too.

The route runs from 18 July to 8 September, making it a pure peak-summer service. Combined with Edinburgh and London City, BA Cityflyer will offer up to seven weekly frequencies to San Sebastián across its network in summer 2026.

At £113 each way, this is the cheapest of the three new routes – though remember these are starting prices and will vary based on demand and timing.

None of these routes are long enough to offer exceptional Avios redemption value, but they're all bookable with Avios through BA's reward pricing.

For short-haul European flights like these, you're typically looking at around 9,250-13,750 Avios each way in economy during off-peak periods. Our Avios pricing guide can help you check specific routes.

The real question is whether Avios represents good value compared to cash prices. With fares starting at £113-127 each way, you'll want to run the numbers.

That said, if you're flush with Avios and these destinations are on your radar, keep an eye on BA's periodic sales where they discount Avios redemptions by up to 50%.

One nice feature of BA Cityflyer is that all flights include a Club Europe (business class) cabin. On the Embraer 190s, this means the front rows with a blocked middle seat, giving you more personal space.

You'll also get additional baggage allowance, priority boarding, and the full Club Europe meal and drinks service. For a short hop to the South of France or Spain, it's a pleasant way to start a holiday – especially if you can snag an upgrade or find a reasonable Avios redemption price.

If you're working towards or maintaining BA status, these short hops won't earn you many tier points, but every little helps – and Club Europe earns at a higher rate than economy.

I'm genuinely pleased to see BA expanding its European leisure network. The Toulon Saint-Tropez route is the most interesting of the three – it's a brand new destination for BA and offers access to one of Europe's most glamorous coastlines from the convenience of London City Airport.

The Sardinia expansion makes sense given the island's growing popularity, and giving Scottish travellers direct access to San Sebastián is a nice touch.

These routes follow BA's recent announcement of new services to Montenegro (Tivat) and Guernsey for summer 2026 – clearly the airline is betting on leisure travel continuing to boom.

For points collectors, these routes aren't going to be sweet spots in terms of redemption value, but they add useful optionality to the BA network. And if you're planning a summer 2026 trip to any of these destinations, being able to earn and redeem Avios – plus access airport lounges with the right status or card – is always a bonus.

All three routes are available to book now on ba.com.

London City to Toulon Saint-Tropez (BA8747/BA8748):

London Stansted to Olbia (BA2330/BA2331):

Glasgow to San Sebastián (BA2343/BA2342):

You can check seat configurations for these flights using Flight Seatmap once schedules are loaded.

Jack