British Airways is to resume services and increase frequencies to destinations that will be removed from the government’s red list for international travel next week.

The national flag carrier is to ramp up services to South Africa, with daily services to Johannesburg from mid-December.

Three flights a week to Cape Town will begin from November, before this moves to a double daily service in December.

BA’s services to Mexico City will be increasing to five services a week from November 6, and Cancun flights will resume from October 22 and operate daily.

Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, are set to return in time for Christmas.

It follows confirmation from the Department for Transport that only seven countries will remain on its red list for international travel from 4am on October 11.

Chief executive Sean Doyle said: “It finally feels like we are seeing light at the end of a very long tunnel.

“Britain will benefit from this significant reduction in red list countries, and now it’s time to turn our attention to eradicating testing for fully vaccinated travellers to ensure we don’t lose our place on the global stage.

“Once we have a firm date for the reopening of US borders in November, we look forward to reconnecting our two countries, reigniting transatlantic businesses and reuniting families who have been separated for the best part of two years. We are ready, and we look forward to operating our first flights and welcoming back our customers.”

BA earlier announced it is planning to operate its biggest schedule since March 2020 this winter.