San Francisco Airport to Host 16 Nonstop Airlines to Europe in 2026

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is set to expand its international reach in 2026 with a total of 16 airlines offering nonstop flights to various European destinations. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, SFO will facilitate an impressive 8,682 scheduled departures to Europe this year, providing over 2.65 million seats for travelers.

United Airlines dominates this market with the largest share, operating 3,106 flights and providing approximately 850,948 seats, which accounts for around 35.8% of the total departures. On average, this translates to about 8.5 daily flights from San Francisco to key European cities. United’s routes include year-round services to major hubs such as Frankfurt (FRA), London Heathrow (LHR), Munich (MUC), and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), alongside seasonal offerings to Amsterdam (AMS), Barcelona (BCN), Rome (FCO), and Zürich (ZRH). The airline typically utilizes widebody twinjets from the Boeing 777 and 787 families for these transatlantic flights.

In a statement regarding United’s growth in San Francisco, CEO Scott Kirby remarked, “We’re winning more Bay Area customers because of our investments in the product, the experience, and the places we fly. Our growth is a direct result of United’s ambitious network strategy.”

Major European Airlines Expanding Operations

Several European carriers will also significantly contribute to the nonstop flight schedule from SFO. Both British Airways and Lufthansa will operate 722 departures each this year, with Lufthansa slightly ahead in terms of seat capacity—266,137 compared to British Airways’ 261,863. British Airways connects San Francisco to London Heathrow using Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, while Lufthansa employs Boeing 747-400 and 747-8 for flights to Frankfurt and Airbus A350-900 and A380 for its Munich service.

Turkish Airlines plans to offer 564 departures from San Francisco to its main hub in Istanbul (IST), operating the Airbus A350-900. Monthly flight totals will vary, with a minimum of 36 departures in February and a peak of 53 in July and August.

Next in line, Virgin Atlantic aims for 552 departures, slightly edging out Air France, which has scheduled 541 flights. Virgin Atlantic’s services to London Heathrow will utilize the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9, while Air France will operate flights to Paris CDG using a mix of Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777-200ER, and 777-300ER aircraft.

Additional European Connections

Beyond the major players, ten other European airlines will maintain less-than-daily flights from San Francisco to various destinations. KLM leads this group with 356 departures to Amsterdam (AMS), followed closely by Aer Lingus and SWISS, with 351 flights each to Dublin (DUB) and Zürich (ZRH), respectively.

Scandinavian Airlines will provide 334 departures to Copenhagen (CPH), while ITA Airways is set to operate 231 flights to Rome. TAP Air Portugal will offer 227 flights to Lisbon and Terceira, followed by French bee with 186 flights to Paris Orly. Iberia will serve Madrid and Barcelona with 184 flights, and Condor is expected to operate 157 flights to Frankfurt.

Additionally, LOT Polish Airlines, the newest European carrier at SFO, plans to operate 98 flights to Warsaw (WAW) from May to October.

As San Francisco International Airport continues to expand its international connectivity, travelers can look forward to a wealth of options for direct flights to popular European destinations in the coming years.