Neos surrenders to United Airlines and cancels Bari-New York. Flights to JFK from Milan and Palermo confirmed instead.

In the past month of June, Neos had been the first airline to connect Bari nonstop with New York (JFK), further fueling the 'trend' that has seen the multiplication of connections between the United States and several southern Italian airports over the past two years.

However, In recent hours, the carrier has announced that there will be no Bari-New York encore in the Summer 2026, canceling the connection for which he had already been opening reservations for weeks.

A note from the company explains that "The decision is related to the changing international geopolitical environment and the Atlantic market as well as to An overcapacity situation on the U.S.-Bari route that have affected demand trends, showing a gradual contraction in recent months. In light of this scenario, and after a shared discussion with business and institutional partners, Neos has decided to review the allocation of long haul capacity."

What is described as "overcapacity" has a name: United Airlines. The American airline, in fact, last fall had announced the start of non-stop connections between Bari and its Newark hub starting May 1, 2026, even on a four-weekly basis.

It is clear that both the frequency and the ability to fly beyond Newark to dozens of destinations in the U.S. with a single check-in and a single ticket have suddenly made Neos's connection less attractive than that of the big Stars and Stripes, moreover in a market like Bari's that 'big' certainly is not.

Thus, while In the same note Neos reiterates that the two weekly connections from both Milan Malpensa and Palermo to JFK have been confirmed for next Summer, the Bari jumped, leaving 'stranded' hundreds of passengers who had already booked for the upcoming summer season to whom, for all bookings issued on or before March 4, the option of being refunded or being re-routed in the same class of travel on other carriers was offered.

However, there are those who complain that things are not running smoothly: one of our readers wrote to us explaining that he "received an email from Neos with flight cancellation. Reportedly proposed: alternative flight NYC-Milan or voucher/refund for 2/3 of the expense incurred to buy tickets.