Emirates, Etihad, And Qatar Airways Significantly Expand Services from JFK to the Middle East for Winter 2025–2026, Strengthening JFK’s Role as a Key Global Hub: You Need to Know

Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways will grow connections from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to the Middle East for the Winter 2025–2026 season, strengthening the hub’s role as a crucial global gateway. The growth is being pushed by connections to the Middle East and the increasing role of JFK as a major international gateway. By adding more flights per day and destinations to these cities, these airlines are targeting the rapidly increasing number of passengers bound to prominent destinations such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. The initiative won’t just boost connections between New York and the Middle East – it will reinforce JFK’s status as one of the world’s great airports for transit across the Atlantic and to and from the Middle East.

This winter, JFK will witness an extraordinary number of daily departures, with up to 19 flights on peak days and a regular frequency of 18 daily departures. A total of 10 major international carriers will operate services to prominent Middle Eastern cities, including Tel Aviv, Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. This marks a significant expansion of JFK’s Middle Eastern operations, underlining its growing role as a key transatlantic hub.

The airlines serving JFK’s Middle Eastern routes include Delta Air Lines, El Al, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Saudia, Royal Jordanian, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, and Arkia. Gulf Air is making its return to JFK, while Arkia, which began operations in February 2025, is another new entrant. While Riyadh Air is expected to join soon, Oman Air has confirmed it will not be launching U.S. flights for the time being.

JFK’s Middle Eastern flight operations this winter will feature a wide range of aircraft, including the iconic Airbus A380, which is exclusively operated by Emirates on its three daily flights to Dubai. Etihad Airways, which previously used the A380, has switched to the Airbus A350-1000 for its daily flights to Abu Dhabi. The A350 offers a modern business class experience but does not feature the first-class cabins or The Residence suites found on the A380.

Arkia Airlines, operating flights to Tel Aviv, will use the Airbus A330-200, which is leased from Bulgaria’s GullivAir. Alongside Arkia, El Al and Delta will continue to provide services to Israel, with daily and multiple flights utilizing Boeing 787s and Airbus A330s.

The following is JFK’s full flight schedule to the Middle East for Winter 2025–2026:

One of the busiest days for JFK’s Middle Eastern flights will be December 14, 2025, when 19 departures are scheduled. Nearly half of the flights will be heading to Tel Aviv, with El Al, Arkia, and Delta operating multiple daily services. Other destinations, such as Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, will also see departures throughout the day.

American Airlines used to fly from JFK both to Tel Aviv and Doha, but they axed those routes in 2023 amid regional instability. The airline has expressed an intention to restore the routes but has not articulated a time frame. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways also added frequencies on its JFK-Doha flights, which helped partially offset the void left by American’s exit.