10 New Delta Routes Take Off: See Where the Airline Flies Next

Delta Air Lines is adding 10 new long-haul routes across Europe, Asia and the Middle East for 2026 — here’s the complete list of where you can fly nonstop.

Delta Air Lines has added or restored 10 nonstop long-haul routes across Europe, Asia and the Middle East for 2026, expanding its international long-haul schedule 4% from a year earlier.

The additions lift Delta’s long-haul offering to an average of 113 daily departures across 118 scheduled routes between August and December, according to schedule data compiled by aviation analytics firm Cirium Diio and reported by Simple Flying. The 10 new and returning routes span three continents, cover 51,317 network miles and touch 15 airports, according to Cirium Diio data cited by Simple Flying.

The expansion includes the first nonstop flight ever operated between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Delta’s Atlanta-to-Riyadh service is set to begin Oct. 23, making Delta the first U.S. airline to fly nonstop to the kingdom.

“Launching service to Riyadh marks a key step in Delta’s global growth as we start our second century of flight,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said when the route was announced. “Our new flights will connect customers to this dynamic, fast-growing region while delivering the care, comfort and reliability they expect.”

Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, welcomed the announcement. “Delta’s new nonstop flights between Atlanta and Riyadh mark a significant milestone in strengthening global connectivity between our nations and will open new doors for tourism and cultural exchange while driving business and innovation,” he said.

New European Nonstop Routes

Seven of the 10 routes serve Europe, launched between May and June:

• Boston to Madrid — started May 6; daily through Oct. 23; Airbus A330-900neo.
• Seattle to Rome — started May 6; four times weekly through Oct. 23; Airbus A330-900neo.
• Seattle to Barcelona — started May 7; three times weekly through Oct. 22; Airbus A330-900neo.
• Boston to Nice, France — started May 16; three times weekly through Oct. 22; Airbus A330-300.
• New York-JFK to Olbia, Sardinia — started May 20; four times weekly through Oct. 23; Boeing 767-300ER.
• New York-JFK to Porto, Portugal — started May 21; up to daily, year-round; Boeing 767-300ER.
• New York-JFK to Malta — started June 7; three times weekly through Oct. 23; Boeing 767-300ER.

Several mark firsts. The Olbia route is the first-ever scheduled transatlantic service to Sardinia by any airline, and the Porto route is Delta’s first-ever nonstop service to that Portuguese city. Seattle’s new links to Rome and Barcelona are city pairs that had never previously been served nonstop by any carrier, and Boston’s new Nice route had no prior nonstop service at all.

The growth is most pronounced in Boston, where long-haul departures are up 15% year over year, propelling the city past Minneapolis and Seattle to become Delta’s fourth-largest long-haul gateway. Boston now offers 11 international long-haul routes, and Delta says it is the largest carrier between Boston and Europe this summer. The airline is also now the top U.S. operator to Italy, serving six Italian airports.

Not every new European link is free of competition. Delta’s Boston-Madrid route goes head-to-head with daily JetBlue Airways service and 12-weekly Iberia flights. The JFK-Porto route, by contrast, has no direct nonstop competition.

Expanding to Asia and the Middle East

The remaining three routes stretch across Asia and the Middle East:

• Los Angeles to Hong Kong — started June 6; daily; Airbus A350-900.
• New York-JFK to Tel Aviv — suspended through Sept. 5; planned to resume Sept. 6, contingent on regional security conditions; Airbus A330-900neo.
• Atlanta to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — starts Oct. 23; daily through Oct. 30, then three times weekly; Airbus A350-900.

A fourth Middle East route, Atlanta to Tel Aviv, has been suspended through Dec. 18 and is planned to resume Dec. 19 with three-weekly Airbus A350-900 service, also contingent on security conditions in the region.

The Hong Kong route marks Delta’s return to the city after an eight-year absence; the carrier last served Hong Kong from Seattle in 2018. The inaugural flight was celebrated at both airports. Delta’s Los Angeles long-haul departures are up 41% year over year, and the airport now anchors eight long-haul routes, including Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Shanghai Pudong, Sydney and Tokyo-Haneda alongside Hong Kong.

The Riyadh flight will fly more than 7,000 miles and connect travelers to more than 150 U.S. cities through one-stop service via Atlanta.

Even with reduced Middle East service during parts of the Aug.-Dec. window, Delta’s Middle East flying is up 24% year over year. The carrier’s Asia capacity outside the Middle East has grown 9% year over year — two percentage points faster than United Airlines — though Delta still trails United in raw scale, averaging 17 daily Asia departures to United’s 29. Delta likewise remains the No. 2 U.S. carrier to Europe, averaging 87 daily departures to United’s 90.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian has signaled the airline’s growth ambitions lie abroad rather than in U.S. mergers. Asked in May about domestic consolidation, Bastian said, “If opportunities come your way, you’ll consider them, but we’re not going to be proactive.”

Financial Backdrop

The international push follows a mixed start to the year financially. Delta posted a first-quarter 2026 net loss of $289 million, which the airline attributed to a $332 million year-over-year jump in fuel costs tied to the Iran war, along with investment losses, even as adjusted quarterly revenue hit a March-quarter record $14.2 billion.

“Total revenue of $14.2 billion was a March quarter record and nearly 10 percent higher than last year, growing several points above our initial outlook, on broad demand strength across corporate and leisure,” Delta Chief Commercial Officer Joe Esposito said.

The airline posted record full-year 2025 operating revenue of $63.4 billion and a $6.2 billion pretax profit. Delta, a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, operates service to more than 300 destinations worldwide. Of the 12 airports where Delta flies long-haul international routes, 10 posted year-over-year growth in the August-to-December period.