It appears that United Airlines will cease flying from Washington Dulles to Dakar and from 
Newark to Stockholm Arlanda. All flights to the Senegalese capital have been removed after early March, while no flight to Sweden is now bookable in 2026. Ishrion Aviation first noticed these developments, which are perhaps unsurprising given market changes.
The 
Star Alliance member has been contacted for comment. All carriers have route churn, and United is no exception. Of course, the airline is currently known for introducing service to new and unusual places. For example, United will take off to Bari, Santiago de Compostela, and Split in 2026, while reintroducing flights to Glasgow.
United From Dulles To Dakar
Covering 3,481 nautical miles (6,447 km) each way, United has flown to Senegal since May 2025. It marked its introduction to the West African nation. However, South African Airways operated Johannesburg-Dakar-Dulles between 2006 and 2019, while Air Senegal had planned to fly to Dulles via JFK, before switching to Baltimore at the last minute. Neither African carrier now flies to the US.
United has always used the 203-seat Boeing 767-300ER to Dakar. The carrier’s schedule submission to Cirium Diio indicates that it intended to run three times weekly on a year-round basis in 2026. However, when writing, the last flight will leave Dulles on March 4.
Routes often take time to develop, especially long-haul. As such, analysis of early data is perhaps unfair. According to US Department of Transportation data for May to July 2025, United only filled 65% of the available seats. That was low, even for a new route. In October 2024, senior network planner Behramjee Ghadially stated the route probably wouldn’t last a year.
United coexists with Delta in serving Dakar. The SkyTeam member runs up to five times a week from New York JFK on the 767-300ER. Moreover, Air Transat recently revealed the first-ever service from Canada to Dakar, with Airbus A321LR flights from Montreal starting next June. Booking data shows that Montreal was United’s second most popular connecting market after New York City, but it only accounted for around 6% of its transit traffic.
United From Newark To Stockholm
Inherited from Continental, this route covers 3,415 nautical miles (6,325 km) each way. United’s service to Stockholm has always been from Newark, which is its fourth-busiest hub and the carrier’s top hub for transatlantic flights.
SAS continues to serve the market on a year-round basis using the A330-300. Given that it has moved from Star Alliance to SkyTeam, it may eventually switch to JFK instead. However, JFK’s lack of slots at decent times may be a factor, while Delta has JFK-Stockholm service on the 767-300ER. SAS’s alliance swap might help explain why United appears to be ceasing the route from Newark. (Malaysia Airlines’ 777-200ERs and even 747-400s operated from Kuala Lumpur to Newark via Stockholm.)
United has almost always served Arlanda on a seasonal basis. In recent years, the operating period has diminished. For example, before the pandemic in 2019, United had 128 one-way flights, with the season being between April 29 and September 3. In 2025, only 88 departures were available, down by 31%, running between June 5 and August 31.
In 2026, United had planned a marginally longer operation, with a daily service from June 4 until September 6. However, its website and other booking locations show that all flights have been removed. The 176-seat 757-200 was down to operate; United has only used it on the route. In fact, it was to be the longest scheduled passenger 757 service from North America.
|
Frequency |
Newark To Stockholm; Local Times* |
Stockholm To Newark; Local Times** |
|---|---|---|
|
Daily |
UA68: 17:05-07:20+1 (8h 15m) |
UA69: 09:10-11:55+1 (8h 45m) |
|
* What was planned for next June |
** What was planned for next June |
Up To 8 Hours: WestJet Adds 8 New Boeing 737 MAX 8 Routes To Europe
They include the carrier’s new longest single-aisle service to Europe.
United’s Stockholm Loads Have Remained Steady
US DOT data is currently only available until July 2025. In June and July, United filled 88% of the available seats to/from Stockholm. As always, this says relatively little in itself and should not be considered in isolation from other factors. This was the same seat load factor as for its full operation in 2024 and up by two points compared to 2019.
Yes, it filled more seats. The shorter operating period meant more flights operated in the more popular summer, and fewer services existed in the less demanded shoulder periods. This should also have increased fares and yields. But overall passenger volume was much lower than it was. While the load factor rose by two points compared to six years ago, traffic fell by a quarter.
If United does indeed end Stockholm flights, it will mark its full withdrawal from Scandinavia. Funnily enough, American Airlines returned to the region in 2024 after a decade-long absence. It now operates from Philadelphia to Copenhagen.
