United Cuts Newark-Lima Flights for Summer

United Airlines has cut its planned daily service from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) for the summer of 2027. The airline removed all scheduled flights for that season in a recent schedule update submitted to platforms like OAG and Cirium Diio. This move comes just a week after United announced 11 new routes to Europe and various links to Asia while stating it would not cut any routes in 2027. The Star Alliance carrier has flown between Newark and Lima on a more or less year-round basis for many years. It is now unclear whether United will now only serve the route during the winter or if it is being fully discontinued. The airline has been contacted for comment.

Route Details and Schedule

The planned summer 2027 service was to cover 3,155 nautical miles (5,843 km) using Boeing 757-200 aircraft. This would have been the variant's second-longest route from Newark, after Malaga. On a distance basis, it'd be a good market for the A321XLR. The schedule showed a 2:30 PM departure from Newark, which was set to be United's earliest long-haul departure from the airport on the 757, as other long-haul services to Europe leave in the late afternoon and evening. For the same reason, the return flight was scheduled to arrive back in New Jersey at 8:20 AM, which was to be the earliest arrival too.

United inherited the route from Continental Airlines, which the US Department of Transportation shows launched the service in 1996. The 757 has been nearly always used on the route.

Passenger Traffic and Performance

In the 12 months to May 2026, the DOT indicates United transported 98,366 round-trip passengers on its nonstop Newark-Lima flights. Traffic varied significantly by season. May 2026 was the most-trafficked month with 9,950 passengers, while February 2026 was the least popular with 4,513 passengers. February is usually the hardest month for airlines. December 2025 saw higher demand influenced by Christmas travel, with 8,958 passengers. With that exception, all other winter months had nowhere near as much traffic as during the summer. As such, it'd be odd for the route to become winter seasonal. The airline's load factor on the route for the examined period was 89.3%, varying monthly from 87.4% to 91.9%. This is just one performance measure and should not be considered in isolation. The monthly loads did not change much, which partly reflected lower capacity in particular winter months and higher demand in the summer, making it hard to read much into the results.

Passenger Connections and Destinations

Of the 98,366 round-trip passengers between June 2025 and May 2026, booking data via OAG Traffic Analyzer suggests approximately 74% were point-to-point, flying only between Newark and Lima. Nearly one in four passengers (23%) connected to another flight in Newark, while the remaining 3% either transferred in Lima or transited at both Newark and Lima. Given the overall size of the market between Greater NYC and Lima, this relatively small proportion of connecting traffic is unsurprising. Washington, DC (via Dulles and Reagan airports) to Lima via Newark was the most popular connecting segment at the city level. Toronto was second, followed by Boston, Tokyo, Montreal, Chicago, Milan, Ottawa, Vancouver, and London. For more detailed travel data, you can explore our stats page, and to see how United's network fits together, check the fixtures and standings sections.