New Flights to Colombia: What Is Changing in 2026

For years, flying to Colombia from outside Latin America meant one thing: land in Bogotá, then connect. That is changing. Over the second half of 2026, three airlines are adding routes that either skip the capital entirely or connect Colombia to a part of the world it has never had a direct link with. If you are planning a trip for late this year or beyond, the map of how you get there looks different from the one you may remember.

Here is what has actually launched, what is coming, and what it changes about planning a trip.

Fort Lauderdale to Barranquilla and Cali

The most concrete change has already happened. Avianca began flying Barranquilla to Fort Lauderdale on July 15, 2026, and Cali to Fort Lauderdale the following day, July 16. Both run daily, using Airbus A320s configured for 180 passengers.

Both routes fill gaps left when Spirit Airlines collapsed, and between them they add more than 5,000 weekly seats between Colombia and South Florida. For travelers, the useful part is the geography. Cali is the gateway to the salsa capital and the southwest, and Barranquilla sits between Cartagena and Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. Flying into either means you are on the coast, or in the southwest, without first crossing the Andes to Bogotá and doubling back.

Houston and Washington to Cartagena

United announced on June 29, 2026 that it will start flying nonstop to Cartagena from two of its hubs, Houston Bush Intercontinental and Washington Dulles, beginning December 17, 2026. Both run four times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, using Boeing 737 MAX 8s. The service is planned as a seasonal one across the northern winter, which is also Cartagena’s driest and busiest stretch.

Cartagena becomes United’s third Colombian destination after Bogotá and Medellín, and its 156th international destination overall. If a walled-city trip is what you are after, this is the first time you can reach it directly from the US capital region or from Texas without a connection.

The First Link to the Middle East

A Qatar Airways Airbus A350 on final approach with its landing gear down

The longest-haul news is Qatar Airways connecting Doha with Bogotá, the first direct service between Colombia and the Middle East. It runs twice weekly as a triangular routing through Caracas, flown by a Boeing 777-200LR, and it is one of the longest routes in the airline’s network at roughly 13,300 kilometers.

One important correction, because it was widely reported wrong. The launch was originally set for July 22, 2026, and a great many travel sites still say the service is flying. It is not. Qatar Airways postponed the launch after the earthquake in Venezuela, and the new start date is September 2, 2026. If you are booking a connection through Doha for late August, check the schedule rather than trusting a headline.

For travelers from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, or Africa, this matters less as a Doha route specifically and more as an alternative to the usual Madrid, Miami, or Panama City connections that have long dominated the approach to Bogotá.

What This Changes About Planning

You may not need Bogotá. For a Caribbean coast trip, Barranquilla or Cartagena as your entry point saves a domestic hop and most of a day. For the southwest, Cali does the same. Our 2-week Colombia itinerary assumes a Bogotá start, but the route works equally well run in reverse from the coast.

More seats usually means better fares, but not on peak dates. December through March is Cartagena’s high season, and the new United flights are timed for exactly that window. Extra capacity helps, but it does not make Christmas week cheap. Our cost of traveling in Colombia breakdown covers what to budget once you land.

Seasonal routes disappear. United’s Cartagena flights are planned as a winter service, so do not assume they will be there in July. Check before building a trip around a route that has been running for one season.

Check what actually operates before you plan. The gap between announcement and first flight can be months, and as the Qatar case shows, dates move. Book on the airline’s own site or check its schedule there before treating a route as real.

If you are weighing how to move around once you arrive, that is a separate question from getting here, and one where buses still beat flying more often than travelers expect. For the wider picture on where to go and when, start with the best time to visit Colombia, or read up on Cartagena and Cali if the new routes have made your decision for you. For why the airlines are adding seats in the first place, our piece on Colombia’s record tourism year has the arrivals figures behind the route announcements.

Sources checked July 24, 2026.