It's good news for festive travellers as British Airways has confirmed it will launch a new direct flight from the UK to the ultimate festive destination. From December 4, the nation’s flag carrier will be taking travellers from London Gatwick to Santa’s home in Rovaniemi, Finland.

Flights will operate on a twice-weekly schedule from launch in December through January 4. Passengers can travel on December 4 and return on December 11 from £317.60 per person.

The capital of Finnish Lapland is nestled directly on the Arctic Circle, and is famous for a number of things, including Santa Claus’ Village, where you can visit Santa and send mail from the Santa Claus Main Post Office.

Visitors can also embark on different wildlife experiences, such as husky and reindeer sledge safaris through the snow.

It gets better… the snowy wonderland destination is also a great place to spot the Northern Lights, with the new flights arriving at a time when your chances of seeing them are highest.

Karen Hilton, managing director of BA Euroflyer and Gatwick Ground Services, said: “Rovaniemi, the home of Santa Claus, is the perfect destination for a festive getaway and a fantastic addition to our Gatwick network, building on the success of our Ivalo route

“Whether customers are hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, meet Santa Claus or experience the magic of Lapland, we’re delighted to offer even more choice across our network.”

The airline is also introducing a new app intended to act as your “real-time travel companion, offering faster access to boarding passes, personalised push notifications and a range of self-service tools”.

Passengers will be able to check in, get live journey updates when travelling out of London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and make use of a whole bunch of other features like a ‘day of travel page, passport scanning, interactive terminal maps for airports, how many people are using the lounges and push notifications.