The airline’s London City-based subsidiary, BA CityFlyer, will operate at weekends from Southampton, offering 11 destinations between 1 May and 31 October

BA CityFlyer will serve Malaga, Florence, Faro, Mykonos, Ibiza, Palma, Bergerac, Limoges, Nice, Edinburgh and Berlin, with up to 17 flights each weekend.

The airline’s managing director, Tom Stoddart, said: "We are delighted to announce the extension of our services to Southampton airport next summer.

“This is an exciting opportunity for the British Airways family. The ideal location of the airport and excellent facilities on offer will hugely benefit our customers along the south coast as they plan to take to the skies again and book a well-deserved holiday in the sun."

The news is a big boost for Southampton airport, which was hit badly by Flybe’s collapse. Figures from Cirium Data show Flybe made up more than 90% of Southampton’s scheduled flights in March, with 223 services a week and 16,500 seats.

Steve Szalay, the airport’s operations director, said: “Today’s announcement from British Airways is fantastic news for Southampton airport and the region during what has been the most challenging of years.

“It’s also great to see BA return to the airport once again, and the range of excellent destinations on offer is sure to be a welcome early Christmas present for passengers looking to plan a European holiday next summer."

Services will be operated on the CityFlyer’s Embraer 190 jets, with return fares from £66.