New flight route offers direct link between Nice and Washington DC
The connection ‘demonstrates the growing attractiveness of Nice to Americans’ as tourist and expat numbers rise
The route is the latest direct addition from United Airlines
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Flying between Nice in France and the US capital Washington DC has just become easier, with a new, regular, direct airline service now launched between the two cities.
The new route, which opened on May 23 after having first been announced in 2024, is operated by US airline United Airlines, and runs four times a week.
It increases the number of airline passenger seats from Nice (Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) to the US by more than 30% in summer 2025, and has been hailed as the start of “a new era of transatlantic connectivity for the Côte d’Azur” by local newspaper Monaco Tribune.
The route has also been praised for offering easier access to more than 130 American destinations, due to the transport infrastructure available from Washington D.C. (e.g. towards the airline and transport hubs of New York and Newark).
‘Even greater travel choice’
New infrastructure to support additional passengers is also opening at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, including two new restaurants, as the airport seeks to increase its passenger capacity 15 million to 18 million per year by 2030.
“Our new nonstop flight enables even greater travel choice for our customers in Nice and the Côte d'Azur region,” said Grégoire Dutoit, United Airlines’ country sales manager for France, in a press release.
The new route adds an extra US service in addition to the existing Nice-New York/Newark service, and daily Paris-US flights.
Read also: Nice airport records passenger boom as tourists flock to city
This connection “demonstrates the growing attractiveness of our area to Americans, who are travelling to the Côte d'Azur in ever-increasing numbers each year, and responds to our desire to always better connect our territory to the major cities of the world”, said Franck Goldnadel, chairman of the executive board of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur.
Nice sees increased interest from Americans
The new route comes just weeks after estate agents in the French city highlighted booming property sales to US citizens amid increased American tourist numbers.
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In early April, international estate agent Adrian Leeds said: "In the last three years, the demand for Nice has exploded. Whereas before most of my clients went to Paris, now Nice accounts for a third of my business. I had to set up about a hundred Americans here in 2024.”
Côte d'Azur France Tourisme states that since 2022, the number of American tourists has increased by 10% since 2019, with 620,000 stays by Americans in hotels in the region in 2024.
Americans now outstrip British, German, or Dutch tourists, “and even Italians, for the first time ever”, said Claire Behar, director of Côte d'Azur France Tourisme.
The new United Airlines route from Nice comes as the airline also launches new routes in other parts of Europe, including to Bilbao, Spain; Palermo, Italy; and Madeira and Faro, Portugal.
