Delta Air Lines Will Fly To The Most European Cities In 9 Years

You will know by now that Delta Air Lines will begin flying to Malta, Olbia, and Porto in 2026. It’ll be the first time Olbia (in Italy’s Sardinia) has had any North American service and the only time any North American operator has flown to Malta on a scheduled basis. Porto will have two US airlines for the first time, which will not be welcomed by TAP Air Portugal, which is increasingly developing the city as a mini-hub.

The focus on Southern Europe for vacationers and those traveling to visit friends and relatives continues at a pace. Indeed, Delta will serve more cities in the region next year than in any other year thus far. However, it will end all flights to London Gatwick and Geneva, while halving routes to Brussels. More changes will inevitably be announced.

Delta’s Peak Summer European Activity Since 2015

Credit: James Pearson

The figure above is based on schedule analysis using Cirium Diio for July from 2015 to 2026. It looks at Delta’s average number of daily departures to Europe and the number of European airports to see the SkyTeam member’s frames.

As of October 1, and certainly subject to change, Delta currently plans an average of 99 daily departures to Europe in July 2026. There will be more services than in any other July to date. Moreover, it will fly to 28 European airports, which will be the highest number in nine years.

Delta Will Fly To These European Airports Next July (For Now)

Credit: GCMap

A problem with looking at what’s planned months in advance is that things can and do change. Nonetheless, details of the new routes to Malta, Olbia, and Porto are summarized below. As is usually the case, financial incentives and other risk-sharing endeavors will underpin them. They follow the launch of New York JFK-Catania flights in May 2025. It was the first time the Sicilian city had US service.

Adding Olbia to its network means Delta will serve six Italian cities in 2026, which is more than United Airlines (five cities) and American Airlines (four), and, unsurprisingly, any other operator to/from the US. Next July, Delta plans an average of 16 daily departures to Italy, which is more than any other transatlantic carrier.

Delta ceased flying to London Gatwick in September 2025, while it’ll end Geneva flights in October. The latter was influenced by Swiss visitors to the US falling by 9% and the coming imposition of tariffs on pharmaceutical products. Both were served from New York JFK, the US’s top widebody airport, the country’s leading European gateway, and the world’s second-busiest airport for widebody activity. It pulled out of Stuttgart in October 2024 (flights operated from Atlanta).

Delta Plans Record Service To Southern Europe

Credit: Flickr

Next July, Delta currently plans an average of 32 daily departures to the Southern European nations of Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain. Its offering has risen by almost 14% compared to the prior record, which was in July 2025. Compared to before the pandemic in July 2019, such services have risen by 78%. An additional 14 daily departures are now available.

Almost a third of Delta’s Europe-bound flights will be to the southern part of the continent. Reflecting the considerably increased appeal of this area for North Americans, the SkyTeam member plans to fly to 12 cities there. Its prior record was nine cities.

Of course, it is not just Delta. United has added multiple destinations in Southern Europe recently (Bilbao, Faro, Funchal, Palermo, etc.), Air Canada will begin flying to Palma de Mallorca, and much more.