Founded in 1931 from the merger of four smaller airlines formed during the earliest days of American aviation, United Airlines is currently the largest airline in the U.S. by fleet size and seat miles. The carrier is one of the “big three” alongside Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.
According to statistics from the airline, United flies more than 140 million people to all continents except Antarctica each year. Earlier this year, United expanded service from Newark Liberty International (EWR) with new direct flights to Split in Croatia, Bari in Italy, and Santiago de Compostela in Spain for the summer of 2026.
But amid expansion to more smaller European cities, United is also pulling back from two other international capitals it has been serving. As first reported by Simple Flying, the airline’s flight to Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS) in Dakar from Washington Dulles (IAD) no longer appears on its flight schedule past March 2026.
These United Airlines flights can no longer be booked for 2026
United Airlines’ second route from Newark Liberty (EWR) to Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) in Sweden was also quietly removed from flights travelers can purchase on the United website for 2026.
United has not officially confirmed cancellation of the routes, but the flight schedule for 2026 suggests it’s increasingly unlikely these flights will run.
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“IAD-DSS is no longer sold after March 6, 2026, and EWR-ARN resumption in 2026 is no longer sold,” Ishrion Aviation posted on social media outlet X (formerly Twitter).
Flight traffic numbers show that United struggled to bring in the passengers necessary to make both routes profitable in the long run, even if they saw demand at certain points in the year.
United Airlines launched a flashy route to Dakar in May 2025.
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A United flight to Senegal had a lot of potential, so why is it getting cut?
The flight from Washington to the capital of Senegal was launched just a few months ago in May 2025, to meet growing demand from both members of the African diaspora living in the U.S. and tourists increasingly interested in exploring the continent.
When announcing the flight, United described Dakar as the “gateway to Africa with pristine beaches, lush forests and rich archaeological history” and the route as one that “will help further Africa’s growing tourism industry, which has seen 13% more arrivals in the first quarter this year.”
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The Newark-Stockholm flight, meanwhile, is a seasonal route that United has run during the peak summer periods for the last decade. But post-pandemic, it has seen a significant drop in demand, with only 88 flights in July and August 2025 compared to 128 during the same time period in 2019.
It has traditionally run on a Boeing 757-200 with 176 passenger seats. This route cut means United will no longer serve Senegal, and its service to African countries will include only South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and Morocco.
While United has previously also flown to Stockholm from San Francisco, it will now no longer offer direct flights to Sweden in 2026, and instead will fly only to the Norwegian capital of Oslo.
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