- The United States recorded 3.1 million international visitors in August 2026, down 11.8% from August 2025.
- Starting October 25, Norse Atlantic will suspend its London and Rome services to New York–JFK.
- Norse will retain Orlando–London Gatwick as its only U.S. route, while citing persistently high fuel costs for capacity cuts.
The National Travel and Tourism Office counted 3.1 million international visitors entering the United States in August 2026, 11.8% fewer than in August 2025. The decline comes as Norse Atlantic Airways prepares to end its New York services for winter. The schedule change takes effect October 25.
July also finished below its year-earlier level. International arrivals fell 7% that month, even as summer brought visitors for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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Norse plans to keep one U.S. route after its New York flights end: Orlando to London Gatwick. The airline’s pullback adds to a year of route reductions by carriers serving the U.S. market. The arrival figures and schedule changes point to two parallel shifts; the material does not establish that one caused the other.
Norse will leave just one U.S. route after October 25
The winter 2026-27 schedule removes the carrier’s remaining New York–JFK services. Two routes are affected: the link between London Gatwick and New York, and the service from Rome Fiumicino to New York. Each had been planned to operate as many as three times a week.
The cuts remove about 83,200 two-way seats from the winter schedule. The routes and their planned frequency break down as follows:
| Winter schedule change | Route | Planned frequency or status |
|---|---|---|
| Suspended | London Gatwick to New York–JFK | Up to three flights weekly |
| Suspended | Rome Fiumicino to New York–JFK | Up to three flights weekly |
| Retained | Orlando to London Gatwick | The remaining U.S. route |
The carrier had already stopped flying to Los Angeles earlier in 2026. The October schedule change narrows its U.S. operation further, while leaving the Orlando service in place.
The airline says fuel costs are driving capacity cuts
Eivind Roald, the airline’s chief executive officer, tied its capacity reductions to fuel expenses and said planes were flying close to full despite carrying fewer passengers. He described the strategy this way:
“Our deliberate capacity reductions reflect persistently high fuel prices and while this lowers the number of passengers Norse carry, we fly with nearly full airplanes.”
The company is redirecting capacity toward long-haul leisure markets, including Bangkok, Cape Town and Phuket. The research also describes a shift toward Thailand routes from Scandinavian cities such as Oslo and Stockholm. Those destinations contrast with the U.S. routes being removed from the winter schedule.
The schedule decision therefore combines a smaller U.S. network with capacity aimed at other leisure markets. Roald’s explanation centered on fuel prices and full aircraft, rather than citing the monthly U.S. visitor count as the reason for the cuts.
The pullback follows earlier route cuts and a wider airline retrenchment
Norse is not the only carrier adjusting U.S.-bound service. Air Canada has confirmed another round of cuts from Toronto and Montréal, affecting routes to New York, Detroit and Orlando. Air France and Lufthansa also cut or downsized dozens of U.S.-bound routes this year.
The airlines’ reductions vary by carrier and city pair. Air Canada’s changes connect its Canadian hubs with U.S. destinations, while the Norse schedule changes remove two transatlantic New York routes. The available figures describe individual airline decisions, not a single industrywide count of canceled flights or seats.
The arrival data provide a separate measure of the market. The National Travel and Tourism Office recorded a year-over-year decline in both July and August, with the August drop larger than July’s. Those totals cover international visitors entering the country, not the number of passengers on any one airline.
August’s decline followed a weaker July
August’s 11.8% fall came after July’s 7% year-over-year decrease. The summer included an influx of arrivals associated with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but July’s total still trailed the same month in 2025. The figures show that a major summer event did not coincide with year-over-year growth in that month’s overall arrivals.
Norse’s schedule change is set for October 25, 2026, when the winter timetable takes effect. Until then, its planned New York services remain on the schedule; after the change, Orlando is the carrier’s sole U.S. route.
