The New Flight Routes Landing in France This Year

Getting to France just got a little easier from several directions at once, as airlines large and small use 2026 to expand where and how often they connect to the country.

The Transatlantic Additions

Air France is adding Paris Charles de Gaulle to Las Vegas starting in April, with three direct flights a week the airline's 19th route to the United States and its 26th across North America overall. It's part of a broader push into the Americas this year, with long-haul capacity rising roughly 2 percent compared to last summer, concentrated on North and South American routes rather than spread evenly across the network.

Delta is taking a different entry point into the country, launching direct flights from Boston to Nice starting in May, with three weekly services to begin. It gives travelers on the US East Coast a more direct route into the French Riviera without connecting through Paris first, and puts Delta into more direct competition with the handful of carriers already flying seasonal Riviera routes from North America.

What's New for UK Travelers

EasyJet has added the heaviest concentration of new UK-France connections this year. Starting in March, the airline launches a Paris Charles de Gaulle to London Stansted route, alongside a new Manchester to Montpellier service, both running twice weekly. A Birmingham to Nice connection follows in May, also on a twice-weekly schedule. Further additions include a Paris Orly to Southampton route from February and a Nice to Newcastle service beginning in March, rounding out one of the airline's more expansive years of French network growth.

Not every route in France is expanding, though. Ryanair has pulled back winter service to smaller regional airports, including Bergerac, Brive and Strasbourg, citing France's rise in its aviation eco-tax to €7.40 per ticket in the latest budget. Whether those routes return for summer remains unconfirmed. The airline's overall French seat capacity has already dropped nearly 15 percent this winter compared to a year earlier, a contraction airlines have consistently tied to the same tax increase rather than falling demand.

Elsewhere Around the Country

Air Canada is starting a twice-weekly Toulouse to Montreal route in May, while Air Transat begins a weekly Marseille to Quebec City service later the same month. KLM is adding a Biarritz to Amsterdam connection this spring, giving southwestern France a more direct link into KLM's European hub network. Air France, meanwhile, is centralizing its Paris short-haul operations at Charles de Gaulle this summer, increasing daily frequencies to Toulouse, Nice and Marseille as part of the shift.

What This Means for Travelers

For anyone planning a France trip this year, the practical effect is more direct options and, in some cases, more competitive fares on routes that previously required a connection particularly for travelers on the US East Coast heading to the Riviera, or UK travelers outside London looking to avoid a detour through a major hub. Regional airports facing Ryanair's pullback are the exception worth watching, since travelers relying on routes into Bergerac, Brive or Strasbourg may find fewer options, at least through the winter season, until airlines confirm summer plans.

Sources: The Local France; Air France corporate newsroom; Connexion France.

Image by Dylan_Agbagni from Pixabay