It’s time to seize your passport and double verify that expiration date: you will need that little blue booklet renewed and ready to go for 2026, when a wealth of thrilling new worldwide flights will launch from cities throughout the US.
Airlines are getting inventive with their route maps subsequent 12 months and including new worldwide service to secluded Caribbean islands, storybook European villages, and bustling Asian capitals. No matter the place you may dwell in the US, there’s a global route coming to an airport close to you—carriers are including flights in quite a few areas all through America, from the Midwest and West Coast to the South and Northeast.
These new routes are thrilling for lots of causes. Many will pair cities which have by no means earlier than been linked by airlift, and a few airways are resuming worldwide service that has been on hiatus for many years.
Below, we check out 19 worldwide flights launching from the US in 2026 that the editors at Condé Nast Traveler cannot wait to board.
United Airlines
Split, Croatia
Starting April 30, United will start the first nonstop service between the US and Split, Croatia’s second-largest metropolis identified for its historic websites, Roman ruins, and as a gateway to the nation’s pure wonders like Krka National Park and the Dalmatian Islands. The airline will function three flights per week from Newark, New Jersey, to Split utilizing its Boeing 767-300ER planes. The jets are outfitted with the airline’s plush Polaris business class, in addition to Premium Plus, which is United’s premium financial system product.
Seoul, South Korea
United will change into the solely US service with nonstop service between Newark and the Korean capital when it launches new each day flights to Seoul on September 4. The bustling metropolis is ever-popular for the vast variety of things to see and do in Seoul, together with exploring the metropolis’s famend modern artwork scene, cool buying districts, and cutting-edge magnificence and wellness therapies (salmon sperm injections, anybody?). Hop on United’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners heading to Incheon airport to discover all that Seoul has to provide.
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
As the capital of Spain’s Galicia area, Santiago de Compostela is finest identified for its medieval structure and amazingly recent seafood. It’s additionally well-known for being the endpoint of the iconic cross-country Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Starting May 27, United will debut the first-ever often scheduled service from the US to the small metropolis: a thrice-weekly seasonal flight from Newark into Santiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport, utilizing its single-aisle Boeing 737 Max 8 jets. The small planes don’t have lie-flat seats, however do have a premium cabin with 16 plush perches.
Delta Air Lines
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Delta will make historical past in 2026 when it launches the first-ever nonstop flight between the US and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has been targeted on opening its borders to vacationers in current years as a part of its Vision 2030 blueprint to diversify its financial system. Delta plans to begin thrice-weekly flights from its hub in Atlanta to the Saudi capital metropolis in October 2026 utilizing its Airbus A350-900 plane. The planes characteristic 4 cabin courses, together with Delta One suites with lie-flat beds and Delta Premium Select, its long-haul premium economy cabin.
Valletta, Malta
With a mix of fascinating historical past, hanging structure, and golden Mediterranean solar, Malta is an irresistible vacation spot for all sorts of vacationers. Delta will debut a nonstop route from New York JFK to the island nation’s capital of Valletta on June 7. Flights will function thrice per week on the service’s Boeing 767-300ER planes, which additionally provide a four-cabin design and embrace Delta One suites. Once in Valletta, guests can tour historic websites older than the pyramids of Egypt or sail throughout the gorgeous Blue Lagoon.
Sardinia, Italy
Also launching in summer time 2026 from JFK is Delta’s new route to the Italian island of Sardinia. The service will fly 4 occasions per week into Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport beginning on May 20. Travelers can nab a seat on Delta’s Boeing 767-300ER, and in 9 hours, land amongst the rugged seaside cliffs and aquamarine waters which have made guests swoon over Sardinia for hundreds of years. There’s a lot to do and see inland, too, with sun-drenched mountaineering trails and small trattorias serving handmade pasta.
JetBlue
Cali, Colombia
JetBlue will add a model new level to its route map in 2026 when it begins nonstop flights to Cali, Colombia, from Southern Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The service remains to be figuring out the particulars of the new route, like the official launch date, flight frequency, and plane it would use, however what’s sure is that US vacationers can have a brand new connection to the western Colombian metropolis identified for its salsa golf equipment and scrumptious road meals.
Liberia, Costa Rica
Another new route launching out of Fort Lauderdale shall be JetBlue’s new service to Liberia, Costa Rica. The year-round, each day flight kicks off on December 4, 2025, aboard the service’s Airbus A320 planes. Liberia is an inland metropolis positioned in northwest Costa Rica and is well-liked for its nationwide parks that includes tropical natural world, waterfalls, and volcanic landscapes. The seaside is a brief jaunt away, the place vacationers will discover world-class surfing areas like Tamarindo.
American Airlines
Budapest, Hungary
Traveling to one among the most gorgeous capitals in Europe shall be considerably simpler for American vacationers in 2026, when American Airlines launches the solely nonstop route from the US to Budapest, Hungary. Seasonal summer time service will start May 21 aboard American’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane. Budapest, cut up in half by the Danube River, looms giant in the imaginations of vacationers thanks to its quite a few Gothic castles and Baroque structure. It’s a beautiful vacation spot to stroll amongst the landmark buildings, in addition to a perfect start line for a river cruise or European rail adventure.
Athens, Greece
On May 21, American Airlines will start a brand new route from its dwelling hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Athens, Greece, making it easy for Texas vacationers to get to one among the hottest summer time locations in all of Europe. Flights will function seasonally in the summer time solely on board Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. Once on the floor, vacationers can use Athens as a base for island hopping round the Greek archipelago, or they will select to keep put and discover timeless websites like the Acropolis, the metropolis’s many museums, and its coveted eating scene. The new route shall be American’s fifth nonstop service to the Greek capital.
Bimini, Bahamas
Not all of American’s new worldwide flights shall be long-haul routes. In reality, the service is about to launch one among its shortest hops that also departs the US: a fast, 60-minute flight from Miami to Bimini in the Out Islands of The Bahamas. Although fast, the route will nonetheless add priceless comfort for vacationers, as will probably be the solely nonstop service from the US to Bimini when it kicks off on February 14. American will use an environment friendly Embraer 175 plane to function the route, however the small regional jet will nonetheless provide a premium cabin. Known for turquoise waters, powder-soft seashores, and awe-inspiring marine life, Bimini is a perfect getaway for vacationers trying to calm down in addition to these looking for aquatic journey.
Alaska Airlines
Rome, Italy
Alaska Airlines is about to debut its first-ever route to Europe in May 2026 with the launch of nonstop flights from Seattle to Rome. The historic route will make it a lot less complicated for vacationers in the Pacific Northwest to join to one among the most beloved cities in Italy, in addition to providing simpler one-stop connections for passengers in Hawaii and alongside the West Coast. The airline plans to use its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners to function flights 4 occasions per week. On board the jets, passengers can anticipate 34 totally enclosed lie-flat suites in enterprise class.
Reykjavik, Iceland
As a part of its bigger worldwide enlargement at its Seattle hub, Alaska Airlines will launch new flights from SEA to the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik in spring 2026. The service will use its single-aisle Boeing 737 Max 8 on the route. The planes have 12 seats in first-class, however don’t provide a lie-flat mattress expertise. West Coast vacationers will little doubt profit from the new handy hyperlink to The Land of Fire and Ice, which is filled with majestic pure wonders, from glacial formations and geothermal lagoons to volcanoes and the (*19*).
Starlux Airlines
Phoenix to Taipei
Taiwan-based service Starlux Airlines will join the island’s capital of Taipei with Arizona for the first time when it launches its nonstop route to Phoenix on January 15. The luxurious service will use its Airbus A350-900 plane to fly three flights per week. On board, the A350 jet has 4 ultra-lavish seats in first-class and 26 lie-flat seats with privateness doorways and direct aisle entry. In Taipei, vacationers can have a lot to discover, together with the metropolis’s temples, world-famous road meals, and the space’s subtropical nationwide parks.
British Airways
St. Louis to London
Travelers in center America will get a straightforward hyperlink to London’s iconic museums, structure, and pub tradition when British Airways launches nonstop flights from Heathrow to St. Louis on April 19. The new route can have 4 flights per week, and it’ll make British Airways the solely airline in the UK to serve St. Louis nonstop. It may also be the first time St. Louis has been immediately linked with the UK in 23 years. Passengers can select from one among three cabin courses on board the service’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner planes, together with Club World enterprise class that provides a lie-flat mattress and 17-inch leisure display screen.
Cathay Pacific
Seattle to Hong Kong
During the pandemic, Cathay Pacific suspended its nonstop route between Hong Kong and Seattle. On March 30, the service will lastly resume it, with flights working 5 occasions per week between the two locations on board Cathay’s Airbus A350-900 jets. The planes provide a enterprise class cabin with lie-flat seats and delicious dim sum meals, a preview of the jaw-dropping culinary scene you’ll discover on the floor in Hong Kong. Passengers may guide into Cathay’s premium financial system cabin, which ranks amongst our favorites in the sky.