Neos cancels 40% flights to New York, vacations at risk for thousands of Italians

Summer 2025 must have gone particularly well, since Neos had decided, for the next one, to double the weekly frequencies between Bari and New York JFK.

As of June 1, 2026, the Italian carrier had planned two flights per week, departing on Tuesdays and Fridays from Puglia's main airport and on Mondays and Thursdays from the Big Apple's main airport.

However, last fall, United Airlines announced that it would operate Bari-Newark starting May 1 with as many as four weekly flights.

Neos cancels Bari and reduces Milan

Time a few weeks and, a few days ago, Neos decided to cancel the Bari-JFK-Bari route altogether, also citing in a note "an overcapacity situation on the U.S.-Bari route that has affected demand trends."

But Milan Malpensa-New York JFK has also been downsized, as far as frequencies are concerned: starting June 2 there were supposed to be three per week, while now the schedule calls for two, departing from Milan on Tuesdays and Saturdays and from New York on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The Milan-New York market is notoriously one of the most 'overcrowded' as to supply, since six companies operate there (there were seven Before ITA decided in January 2024 to leave Malpensa altogether.): United Airlines, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Emirates, La Compagnie, and, indeed Neos. However, the carrier's choice to remove one of the weekly flights is yet another confirmation of its tendency to remain what it was born to be, which is primarily a leisure airline.

Adding the two vanished frequencies on Bari to the one cancelled from Malpensa, you get that within a very short time Neos has taken off the 40% abundant of its flights between Italy and New York, giving a big blow to the thousands of passengers who had already booked a seat on board for their summer vacation.

Vacations ruined for a great many Italians

And we're not talking about frequent flyers, accustomed to 'navigating' possible twists of fate due to strikes, bad weather or flight cancellations related to other reasons.

But of people who, for the most part, can afford a june ray vacation now and then and is very price conscious.

Vacationers who probably bought the flight because it was cheaper or perhaps because it was segregated by the travel agency and for whom flight cancellation is quite a problem in terms of organization, although Neos has established refunds at 100% for all booked passengers (and they would be missed), with the possibility of re-routing on flights from Milan Malpensa.

Passengers who, to put it bluntly, upon being offered re-routing, probably wondered, "Yeah, but how do I get to Malpensa? And do I have to pay for it? And then how do I make the connection?" All this two and a half months after the supposed start of flights.

The alternative, however, is far worse. Under date, in the midst of the outbreak of war in Iran and rising fuel prices ticket prices increased and so those who had been counting their pennies, perhaps buying during the Black Friday promotion, now find themselves at risk of having to spend much more or give up their trip, assuming they did not have non-cancelable hotel/excursion packages.