United Airlines has expanded its network to include Senegal, marking the West African nation as its fifth African destination alongside Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. The airline inaugurated flights from Washington Dulles to Dakar on May 23. This new service is part of ten routes launched by United from Dulles within a 48-hour window, including flights to Nice and Venice.
Using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft configured with 203 seats, United operates the Dakar route three times weekly throughout the year. Despite being United’s shortest African route from Virginia, with just 11,000 local passengers annually compared to New York City’s 50,000 and Montreal’s 33,000 for Dakar services, it represents the first nonstop connection between Washington Dulles and Dakar.
In Southern Europe, U.S.-Italy travel remains popular as three airlines introduced seven new routes between May 21 and May 23. Delta Air Lines commenced operations from New York JFK to Catania—a market previously unserved by U.S. carriers—and introduced flights from Atlanta to Naples and Boston to Milan. Additionally, Delta reinstated service from Minneapolis to Rome.