British Airways will begin operating flights from London Heathrow to Zagreb from 9 December 2012, the airline has announced today (27 June).

Zagreb route is a part of a new winter schedule announced following the acquisition of bmi by British Airways’ parent company IAG. It will be the first time direct flights have flown to the Croatian capital since the airline axed its Gatwick service in 2003.

Flights to Zagreb will be operated daily with prices starting from £69 (one way) including taxes, fees and charges. Tickets are already available for booking on British Airways’ website.

Commenting on the announcement, Keith Williams, British Airways’ CEO, said: “bmi’s integration into British Airways is really enabling us to grow our network as we promised, giving customers more flights to destinations we know they want to fly to.

“We’re focusing on new routes such as Seoul, Leeds Bradford and Zagreb, more flights to popular destinations and creating more connections for the UK regions to our global network of flying.”

The airline has stated in today’s press release that further route announcements will be made next month.