United expands European network with four new routes for summer 2026

The U.S. carrier is expanding its summer network with new direct services from Newark to Split, Bari, Glasgow and Santiago de Compostela — a push into secondary European markets that underlines its dominance of the transatlantic corridor

United Airlines is deepening its transatlantic footprint with new nonstop services to four cities across southern and western Europe next summer, strengthening its claim as the largest U.S. carrier operating between North America and the continent.

From May 2026, the airline will introduce direct flights from Newark/New York to Split in Croatia, Bari in Italy, Glasgow in Scotland, and Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Each destination will be served exclusively by United, extending its reach into secondary markets that have traditionally lacked U.S. links.

The move follows a record 2025 season in which United expanded into nine new destinations and carried 1.5 million passengers to Italy, Spain and Portugal — an 11 per cent year-on-year increase.

Patrick Quayle, United’s Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, said: “United has an unmatched international network, and we pride ourselves on connecting our customers to unique, trendsetting destinations no other U.S. airline serves. With the addition of these new flights and the return of all of our new routes from last year, United now flies to 46 cities across the Atlantic — more than any other airline — and is the clear flag carrier of the U.S.”

The new routes are part of a broader summer 2026 schedule that includes daily flights between Washington-Dulles and Reykjavik, Iceland, year-round service from Newark to Seoul, South Korea, and a third weekly connection between Newark and Tel Aviv. 

United will also continue to operate all nine destinations launched in 2025, including Ulaanbaatar, Nuuk, Palermo, Bilbao, Faro, and Madeira, among others.

In Split, the airline will provide the only direct link between the United States and Croatia’s Adriatic coast. Flights will operate three times a week on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, serving both leisure and cruise passengers bound for the Dalmatian islands.

In Italy, United will become the first U.S. carrier to serve Bari, the main gateway to the Puglia region, famous for its hilltop towns, Adriatic beaches and Trulli architecture. The four-times-weekly service from Newark will also connect travellers to the wider Adriatic basin through Bari’s busy maritime port.

Service to Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, will begin on 8 May and run daily through the summer season using Boeing 737-MAX 8 aircraft. United will be the only U.S. airline to serve Glasgow directly and will continue year-round operations to Edinburgh, maintaining its position as the largest carrier between the United States and Scotland.

The fourth new route, to Santiago de Compostela in Spain’s Galicia region, will launch on 22 May with three weekly flights from Newark.

It will be the first regular transatlantic service to the city, the historic endpoint of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. United already serves Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca and Bilbao, and remains the only U.S. airline with direct flights to Bilbao, Málaga and Palma.

In addition, the carrier will open daily service between Washington-Dulles and Reykjavik on Boeing 757-200 aircraft, becoming the only airline to offer lie-flat business seats between the two capitals. United will also launch daily year-round flights between Newark and Seoul on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, expanding its footprint in Asia.

By next summer, United expects to operate nearly 3,000 weekly international roundtrips — including 850 daily flights to 150 overseas destinations — and to serve 41 international cities not reached by any other U.S. carrier.

READ MORE: ‘United commits to 50% diversity at new pilot school in effort to reshape airline training’. Plans to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030 — half of them women or people of colour — have been revealed by United Airlines as part of a long-term drive to diversify the profession and address the sector’s looming pilot shortage.

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_{Main image: United Adds Flights to New Cities in Croatia, Italy, Scotland and Spain next Summer. Credit: UA}