United Airlines is looking to boost passenger bookings by adding flights to Iceland, Croatia, and Greece for the summer. This comes as the re-opened countries are predicted to be a hotspot for vaccinated travelers.

While most of Europe remains closed to U.S. citizens, the re-opening of Ireland, Croatia, and Greece might foreshadow the future of tourism for the rest of the continent by late summer. The newest addition to United’s flight load, Chicago to Reykjavík, Iceland, comes just as Iceland announced it will permit tourists to visit without the need for quarantine if they can show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine.

United also added flight service from Newark to Dubrovnik, Croatia from the summer to fall months. 

Greece is expected to open in mid-May to vaccinated tourists or those who show a recent negative COVID-19 test result. United has decided to be two steps ahead, by planning to add direct flights from Washington Dulles Airport to Athens, Greece which will mirror their Newark to Athens service, through the summer months.

As vaccination rates rise, it is expected that United and other major US-based airlines will start to resume their international flights as countries re-open. The airline is projected to resume service from Newark to Milan and Rome, and from Chicago to Munich and Amsterdam in the coming months.

Other United Airlines news

Domestically United Airlines will add a total of twenty-six new nonstop routes, from Midwest cities to popular state-side vacation spots like Hilton Head, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; and Portland, Maine. Other domestic routes will fly between Orange County, California, and Honolulu.

Internationally United will increase flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. They will resume some of their more popular flights including Chicago to Tokyo, New York/Newark to Milan and Rome, while also restarting service between Chicago and Amsterdam.