American Airlines has canceled three routes this year — including one of its longest non-stop flights.
The Fort Worth-based airline has cut three routes from its schedule this year, dropping one domestic destination and two international gateways.
The carrier terminated flights to Santa Maria (SMX) in California earlier this year, followed by Tijuana International Airport in Mexico in August. But its biggest cut came with the cancellation of service to Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar.
American axed the nonstop Boeing 787-9 service out of Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in March due to Middle East tensions and weak financial performance. The 14.5-hour, 6,798-mile route held the title of the longest flight ever to depart from PHL.
To fill the void, alliance partner Qatar Airways returned to Philadelphia on Aug. 1 with daily nonstop service to Doha, leaving it as the sole operator on the route.
American isn’t the only airline to cancel international flights this year amid Israel and Iran’s ongoing war. United Airlines, historically the largest American carrier serving Israel, froze ticket sales for flights from its Newark hub to Tel Aviv from March until June of this year.
American Airlines flights to Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv from JFK’s Airport have also had an extended cancellation until March 2027, which they have not operated since October 2023 following the October 7th attacks.
American also axed its flights to flights to California and Mexico this year, citing financial reasons. The Tijuana flight was originally proposed to link the two cities with strong family and business connections, as well as reach those looking to explore less touristy parts of Mexico.
Flights to Tijuana International Airport from Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) were introduced at the start of 2024, but did not see enough passenger uptake. It was the carrier’s shortest flight with just 290 miles between the two cities.
American Airlines continues to fly to nine Mexican cities from Phoenix — Cancun, Los Cabos, and Mexico City as well as a seasonal route to Zihuatanejo on the country’s Pacific coast among others.
The terminated flight to SMX, a smaller regional airport in California, now makes the airport home to only one airline : Allegiant Air, which operates regular flights to and from Las Vegas (LAS). American primarily operated the route to grow its hub network from its Arizona base. The flight operated for less than a year between October 15, 2025 to May 7th 2026 and discontinued because of low demand.
Despite three cancellations, American is expanding its international network in 2027 with seven new routes. Philadelphia will gain international destinations: Porto, Portugal and Vienna, Austria. Reykjavik. Porto and Vienna will be entirely new additions to American’s network, while service to Reykjavik, Iceland will return for the first time since 2019.
