International airlines are trimming flights to the United States as weaker inbound tourism and elevated fuel costs put pressure on transatlantic routes. Norse Atlantic Airways is now the latest carrier to pull back.
The US received roughly 3.1 million overseas visitors in August of 2026, down 11.8% from a year earlier, according to National Travel and Tourism Office data. That followed a 2.4% year-over-year decline in July. Western European arrivals alone fell 14.8% in August.
(Source: International Inbound Travel Association)
The decline persisted despite the US co-hosting the FIFA World Cup this summer. Travel industry executives pointed to a combination of expensive airfare, visa delays, stricter immigration policies and political tensions as factors weighing on international demand.
Norse Atlantic joins growing list of airlines cutting US flights
Norse Atlantic will suspend its London Gatwick-New York JFK and Rome-New York JFK routes for the Northern winter season from Oct. 25 through March 27, 2027. Both routes had been scheduled to operate three times per week.
The move follows earlier cuts to Norse's US network. The airline closed bookings for planned 2026 services connecting Los Angeles with London, Paris and Rome. This greatly shrinks a US presence that once included several major American cities.
Norse is far from alone. Air Canada repeatedly scaled back its US schedule this year. The carrier said soaring jet fuel prices made some lower-margin routes uneconomical, while weaker demand also prompted reductions. Its changes have included New York JFK services from Toronto and Montreal, along with other transborder routes and delayed seasonal Florida flights.
European carriers are adjusting as well. Air France reduced or temporarily suspended some Paris-New York frequencies for the upcoming winter season, while Lufthansa is cutting Frankfurt-Chicago service from 14 weekly flights to 10 before dropping to seven per week later in the winter.
Spanish low-cost carrier LEVEL has also reduced flights from Barcelona to Boston, Los Angeles and New York during 2026.
High fuel prices are adding another layer of pressure. The Iran conflict pushed jet fuel from around $800 to roughly $1,300 per metric ton earlier this year, which forced airlines across the industry to reassess less-profitable flying.
For US tourism, the concern is that route reductions could reinforce the downturn: fewer flights mean less capacity and potentially higher fares. This makes it even harder to reverse the decline in international visitors.
