The start of new routes is always exciting, which is why a selection of the most notable additions are covered each week in a dedicated, celebratory article. The interest is increased further when multiple links launch within days of each other, which happens frequently.

Cirium Diio data was used to examine every scheduled passenger service touching the US between January 1, 2025, to May 21, 2026. This was then compared to what is available between May 22 and 29, 2026. This process identified that five US airlines will introduce 15 routes. They’ll all begin or resume in just five days: May 22, 23, 27, 28, and 29.

These 11 Routes Launch On May 22 And 23

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This article was written and published on Friday, May 22. On this day, only one route will commence. It is United Airlines from its Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) hub to Cody. A Friday-only service will operate through September 18, with all flights using SkyWest Embraer E175s. The market was last served in 2021. At 936 nautical miles (1,733 km), it’ll be Cody’s new longest nonstop service in five years.

Ten routes will begin or resume on May 23, all of which are operated by American Airlines,Delta Air Lines, and United — or, at least, regional units on their behalf. They are summarized in the following table. Notice that more than half of them are brand-new, which is particularly good to see. The compromise, of sorts, is their weekly-only frequency.

They include three additional markets from ORD, which is despite the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposing a flight cap to help mitigate delays during the summer. This has resulted in others, particularly United, cutting many thousands of services. But new routes are still being launched, although some have very low frequencies.

This Long-Haul Route Starts On May 27

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On Wednesday, May 27, United will lift off from its primary transatlantic gateway of Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ). The city is in Northwest Spain, close to other cities like Vigo and A Coruña, and not overly far from Portugal’s northern border.

This is another brand-new route; no airline has ever served it before. More than this, it will be the first time that SCQ has any flights from North America. It is, therefore, a significant development, with United inevitably and understandably influenced by financial incentives and perhaps other risk-sharing agreements. They help to reduce the risk of launching an untested and costly new service.

United will serve Santiago three times weekly using the 166-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8. With a block time back to New Jersey of eight hours, this will be the Star Alliance member’s new longest MAX-operated service. In 2025, Santiago, and the nearby cities, had 53,000 round-trip passengers who flew to/from the US. United’s nonstop flights will grow that traffic volume.

Three Routes Begin On May 28 And 29

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On Thursday, May 28, Alaska Airlines will debut from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Keflavik, becoming the first time the carrier has flown to Iceland. It will be its third route to Europe and, of course, the only one operated by narrowbody equipment. The launch came a month after Alaska’s first European service began, and a week after it took off from SEA to London Heathrow.

Then there’s Breeze Airways. The fast-growing carrier, which is now over five years old, will commence two routes on Friday, May 29: Hartford to Louisville (twice-weekly A220-300) and Raleigh/Durham to Orange County (twice-weekly A220-300). Both markets are brand-new. At 1,923 nautical miles (3,561 km) each way, Raleigh/Durham to Orange County becomes Breeze’s new seventh-longest service.