United will add another airport to its route map in 2026, becoming the second U.S. airline to regularly serve it. The Chicago-based airline last served this airport over a decade ago.
Beginning on March 30, the carrier will relaunch flights to McClellan–Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California. Twice-daily flights are scheduled from United’s Denver and San Francisco hubs on SkyWest Embraer E175s.
The airline’s network planning chief, Patrick Quayle, confirmed the carrier’s newest airport addition on Instagram.
“Carlsbad is a bit different for the United network. It’s not Bangkok. It’s not Bari. It’s a small domestic airport, and there’s something special about connecting it to the world,” he said in a post. “One of the things that makes Carlsbad different is that it only handles two scheduled commercial departures every day – the rest are general aviation.”
American launched flights to Carlsbad in February, which is located just over 30 miles north of downtown San Diego. Currently, it is the only major airline serving the airport, with flights to its Phoenix hub.
Semi-private operator JSX also flies to McClellan-Palomar.
United last flew to the California airport in April 2015 with service to Los Angeles.
