From Aberdeen to Australia, Manchester to Mumbai and Edinburgh to the East Coast, Virgin Atlantic passengers around the UK will now be able to enjoy seamless connections to the airline’s long haul destinations with the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s domestic flying programme.

Sir Richard Branson’s airline has confirmed that it will challenge British Airways head on by operating 24 domestic flights a day - six daily return flights to Edinburgh, three to Aberdeen and a further three to Manchester - starting from March 31st 2013.

The flights, which will operate from London Heathrow Terminal 1, will go on sale on the December 19th.

Virgin Atlantic chief executive, Steve Ridgway commented: “This is the beginning of an exciting new era in Virgin Atlantic history.

“It’s been a long time coming but the dawn of our short haul service is now just a few months away.

“We’ve worked hard to produce the sort of operation that consumers have come to expect from us – with customer service and a unique approach to flying forming the key pillars for our new domestic routes.

“Most importantly, passengers will reap the benefits of increased choice and lower fares due to the reinjection of vital competition we can provide on these routes.

“We’ll be offering nine daily services to and from Scotland and three return flights between Manchester and London, giving us the scope to fly around one million passengers per year. Connecting passengers onto our long haul flights means we are truly making the world a smaller place.”