United Airlines will open two new nonstop routes to Cartagena, Colombia, in December, adding year-round service from Houston Bush Intercontinental and Washington Dulles.
The Star Alliance member says flights from both hubs will begin Dec. 17, operating four times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays during the winter season. Both routes will be served with Boeing 737 aircraft.
The expansion will make Cartagena United’s third destination in Colombia, joining Bogota and Medellin. It also marks a move into a leisure-oriented coastal market at a time when U.S.-Colombia capacity is being reshaped by the exit of Spirit Airlines and continued growth by Avianca.
“Colombia has been an important part of United's Latin America network for more than 30 years, and our new service to Cartagena reflects our continued investment in the country," says Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of network planning and global alliances at United.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows scheduled nonstop capacity between the U.S. and Colombia totals about 3.8 million two-way seats for summer 2026, down 2.7% from 3.9 million in summer 2025. Frequencies are also slightly lower, falling from 21,386 to 21,112.
Spirit’s collapse has driven much of the change following the ULCC's shutdown in May. The airline offered about 497,000 two-way seats during the summer 2025 season, but operated only around 83,000 seats in summer 2026 before ceasing operations.
However, Avianca is scheduled to increase U.S.-Colombia capacity by 17.3% year on year to almost 1.9 million seats in summer 2026, lifting its market share to nearly 50%. American Airlines is also growing, up 6.1% to about 742,000 seats.
Meanwhile, United’s summer 2026 capacity to Colombia is scheduled at about 315,000 seats, down 7% year on year, reflecting reductions on Houston-Medellin.
Cartagena is already served from the U.S. by American, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways, while Spirit previously served the city. In summer 2026, Miami-Cartagena is the largest U.S. route to the city with about 120,000 two-way seats, followed by New York John F. Kennedy, Fort Lauderdale and Atlanta. However, total U.S.-Cartagena summer capacity is scheduled to fall 20.4% year on year to about 286,000 seats because of Spirit’s collapse.
United's new Houston service will strengthen connectivity to Cartagena through one of the airline’s largest Latin American hubs, while the Washington Dulles route will give United its first nonstop link between the U.S. capital region and Colombia.
Bogota remains the largest Colombian gateway from the U.S., with more than 2.3 million two-way seats scheduled in summer 2026, up 1.8% year on year. Medellin capacity is down 14.1%, while Cartagena is down 20.4%. Barranquilla is the strongest growth market, rising 47.6%, driven mainly by additional Miami capacity.
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