en.Wedoany.com Reported - According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, ten long-haul routes at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport recorded load factors below 70% between March 2025 and February 2026, with one route falling below 51%. As a key gateway to New York and the U.S. East Coast, JFK Airport is a popular destination for global long-haul airlines, but this data indicates that not all routes achieve high passenger load factors.
Between March 2025 and February 2026, the emptiest long-haul route at JFK Airport was Kuwait Airways' flight to Kuwait International Airport, with a load factor of just 50.63% and a total of 112,808 planned seats. The average load factor for all long-haul routes at the airport during the same period was 83.2%.
The other two routes in the top three of the list both originate from Africa, with load factors below 60%. Delta Air Lines' route to Lagos had a load factor of 57.57% and 18,173 seats; Ethiopian Airlines' route via Abidjan to Addis Ababa had a load factor of 57.92% and 72,677 seats. Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, commented on the company's plans for JFK Airport, stating that customers will benefit from a world-class airport terminal experience, which complements its services and enhances connectivity between Addis Ababa, New York, and the global network.
Routes ranked fourth to seventh on the list are primarily from Europe. Two routes operated by Azores Airlines are included: the fourth-ranked route to Terceira Island had a load factor of 63.71% and 6,286 seats; the seventh-ranked route to Ponta Delgada had a load factor of 68.27% and 43,945 seats. According to data from Cirium, only the Ponta Delgada route is still in operation, with Azores Airlines planning 17 flights on this route in June this year, using Airbus A321neo aircraft. Air Serbia's daily flight from Belgrade to JFK Airport ranked fifth, with a load factor of 66.56% and a total of 87,227 seats. Between this route and the Ponta Delgada route is Delta Air Lines' flight to Blaise Diagne International Airport in Senegal, with a load factor of 67.98% and 52,853 seats.
Among the top ten routes, three others had load factors below 70%. Gulf Air's route to Bahrain ranked eighth, with a load factor of 68.35% and 24,671 seats. Cirium data shows this route is still in operation. The remaining two routes had very similar load factors: EgyptAir's route to and from Cairo had a load factor of 69.62% and 83,350 seats; Neos' route to and from Palermo had a load factor of 69.84% and 15,371 seats. Both routes are still in operation, with EgyptAir's flights on June 30 operated by Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
