dailynewsnblog
United Airlines has more long-haul flights than any other carrier globally. Between now and next summer, Cirium Diio data shows that it has an average of 157 daily departures from hubs across the US. The carrier is currently renowned for its ongoing network creativity, including with the Airbus A321XLR.
In the past 20 years, United has stopped flying to 24 long-haul destinations globally. They’re in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, but not in South America (at least not long-haul). This excludes Dubai, to which the 
Star Alliance member is scheduled to return in March 2027 due to the ongoing war in Iran.
United Has Stopped Flying To 15 European Airports
Since 2006, the following European destinations have ceased seeing the world’s largest long-haul operator. Obviously, the picture would be different if a longer timeframe were considered instead. As you’ll appreciate, this article is entirely retrospective, but the past is important to understand the present and the future.
United has stopped flying 15 European airports, which is two more than for American Airlines. All of United’s eliminated markets were served from 
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) or Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). In most cases, passengers can still reach them with United’s alliance, joint venture, or codeshare partners. That’s a critical reason for having such agreements in the first place.
End Year (Only 2006+) | European Airport |
|---|---|
2012 | Copenhagen* (from EWR), Moscow Domodedovo (from IAD) |
2013 | Istanbul Atatürk (since closed; from EWR) |
2014 | Stuttgart* (from EWR) |
2016 | Newcastle (from EWR), Oslo (from EWR)* |
2017 | Belfast International* (from EWR; the photo above was taken in Belfast, hence the old livery on the 757-200), Birmingham (from EWR)* |
2018 | Hamburg* (from EWR) |
2019 | Prague (from EWR) |
2020 | Berlin Tegel* (from EWR; Tegel has since closed with United now flying to Brandenburg), Manchester (from EWR, IAD) |
2022 | Bergen (from EWR) |
2025 | Stockholm Arlanda* (from EWR), Tenerife South (from EWR; significantly, Air Canada begins two routes there next month) |
* Inherited from Continental |
Five Destinations In Africa & Asia Have Been Dropped
In the past 20 years, United has ceased flying to these places in Africa and Asia (the Middle East is treated separately in the following section). Notice Dakar, which is the capital of the West African nation of Senegal. United’s experience there was short-lived, although that was predictable. Flights only existed between May 2025 and January 2026.
United briefly flew to the enormous Chinese cities of Hangzhou and Xi’an. Naturally, they were served from the carrier’s Pacific hub at 
San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Xian was served in 2016 and 2017 on a summer-only basis using the Boeing 787-8, while Hangzhou flights operated year-round on the 787-9. Both markets ended long before COVID-19. Neither city now has US flights with any carrier.
In contrast, United arrived in Chengdu in 2014 and pulled out in 2020 as a consequence of the pandemic. Funnily enough, flights were often scheduled thereafter but did not resume. They were simply removed after not materializing. Chengdu still has US flights, with Sichuan Airlines operating to Los Angeles.
End Year (Only 2006+) | African Or Asian Airport* |
|---|---|
2017 | Hangzhou (from SFO), Xi’an (from SFO) |
2020 | Chengdu (from SFO) |
2022 | Mumbai (from EWR) |
2026 | Dakar (from IAD) |
* Excluding Nagoya. While nonstop service from SFO existed until 2008, the city still has flights from Guam, although they are not, of course, long-haul. Some may have preferred Nagoya to be included |
These Four Middle East Destinations Have Gone
In the past two decades, United flew from IAD to Kuwait between 2006 and 2016. From 2010 to 2016, flights were extended to Bahrain. Elsewhere, the carrier flew from IAD to Doha between 2012 and 2014, with the Qatari capital served on a one-stop basis via Dubai. The Boeing 777-200ER was used to them all.
The photo above celebrated the launch of flights from IAD to Amman, Jordan, in May 2022. The long route was flown three times weekly on a year-round basis using the 787-8. The market for North America travel is relatively large, with Washington DC being the largest unserved US market at the time. Royal Jordanian now serves IAD.
United’s traffic was helped by good visiting friends and relatives demand, growing tourism (at least at the time), US embassy and government travel, and for those bound for nearby countries, including Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The US Department of Transportation shows that United had a very strong load factor of 86.7%, which is a good reminder of why this is just one performance measure and should not be considered in isolation.
