EasyJet has announced that flights to Georgia will begin from London Luton Airport next month. This gives British holidaymakers one more country to access via a direct flight.
The Georgian capital, Tblisi, has joined a list of more than 350 cities within a plane ride from a UK airport. The news came after airlines announced many new routes for 2025.
This includes Iron Travel installing a route to connect London with Cuban airport Cayo Coco and Manchester with Holguin, restoring the UK's links to the largest Caribbean island.
However, dozens of countries are inaccessible from Britain in one flight. This is for various reasons, from an airport simply being too far away to make it in one flight to their being restrictions. Or, in the case of some micro states, there is no airport at which to land.
However, some large countries, such as Indonesia, which has a population of 281 million, require a stopover.
About 100 countries have no non-stop air links to the UK, although this changes annually.
Here is the full list of countries without a direct flight from Britain, based on available information as of March 2025.
All the countries that do not have a direct flight from the UK
Where the UK Government has banned travel
Due to safety and political reasons, according to the UK Government website, you cannot fly directly to:
The Foreign Office has also prohibited flights to Ukraine and Belarus due to the ongoing conflict with Russia, although there have been hopes of resuming commercial flights to Ukraine.
The other countries on this list can receive British flights but do not.
Some surprisingly large countries in Asia, Africa and South America
One of the most surprising is that you cannot fly to Bali in Indonesia.
Garuda had a flight from the UK in 2019, which was axed after the pandemic.
In Asia, you cannot fly to Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Palestine, Philippines, Taiwan, Tajikistan and Timor-Leste.
You can now fly directly to only 12 African countries after British Airways stopped flying to Uganda’s Entebbe airport in 2015, leaving the country without a connection.
Also in Africa, you will need to change to get to:
In South America, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana and Bolivia all require more than one flight from the UK. Most require a change in Spain, and some options require a second stop.
Small island countries
The Faroe Islands belong to this category. Although they are between Iceland and Scotland, it is advisable to travel to Denmark first. Nonetheless, some connections are available from London during the summer, and flights can be found from Aberdeen if you search for them.
Many Caribbean and Central American destinations require a connecting flight. These include the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and several dependent territories such as Anguilla, Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Cuba is also on this list, though direct flights from London Gatwick and Manchester are set to resume next month.
Countries that do not have an airport
There is no way that anyone can fly directly to small states that do not have an airport.
These include: San Marino, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Andorra, and the Vatican City (the Pope is reportedly happy to slum it and travel from Rome).
And those that are too far away!
Flying Down Under has always been a long journey, but until recently, it was possible to do it in one go.
Qantas had been offering a 17-hour non-stop flight from London to Perth, making Australia accessible on a single flight. However, the airline has temporarily suspended the route due to the escalating situation in the Middle East.
As such, all flights to Oceania — including destinations like Sydney, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, and other Pacific Island nations — now require at least one stop.
Did I miss something? I extensively researched this article, but if you know of a direct flight to any country listed, please email william.mata@standard.co.uk.
