Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport put Dfw Airport back in the lead for American Airlines' long-haul network in Q3 2026. The carrier planned 2,073 long-haul departures there, edging past London Heathrow Airport, which had 1,932 outbound flights.
Q3 2026 at DFW
The comparison uses long-haul as nonstop flights of at least 2,650 nautical miles, and it covers the summer period from July through September. In that window, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport averaged 23 daily outbound long-haul services, with as many as 25 a day through early August and as few as 18 in late September.
American Airlines also expanded the route mix at the airport. It launched first-ever service to Athens from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on May 21, 2026, resumed flights to Zurich there the same day after a 19-year absence, and planned up to four weekly flights to Buenos Aires in July and August 2026. Flights to Honolulu rose from daily in Q3 2025 to double daily through early September 2026.
London Heathrow Airport in Q3 2026
London Heathrow Airport had led American Airlines' long-haul network from 2022 to 2025, after earlier stretches at other airports. Before that run, London Heathrow Airport was first from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2012, while Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport led from 2016 to 2021.
The shift in Q3 2026 came as American Airlines' long-haul activity at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was 6% higher than in Q3 2025, while its long-haul activity at London Heathrow Airport was 13% lower. That is the clearest sign that the airline's top long-haul base moved back to Texas for the summer peak, not just for a single route pair.
American Airlines' long-haul lead
For travelers using Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the practical change is that the airport carried more of American Airlines' long-haul schedule in the period when the carrier usually leans hardest into transatlantic and other extended flying. The airport was already American Airlines' busiest hub overall; in Q3 2026, it also became the airline's biggest long-haul hub again.
Whether that lead lasts beyond Q3 2026 is unanswered, but the 2026 summer schedule shows where American Airlines chose to add long-distance flying and where it pulled back. The balance now sits with DFW Airport, not London Heathrow Airport.
