Singapore Airlines Has Cut All Flights To This Major US Airport: List & Map

Published Sep 8, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT Journalist – Aaron is an aviation and travel journalist with 14 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. His background spans airport operations, aviation infrastructure, and travel consulting, having worked with global organizations across New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Combining industry expertise with firsthand travel experience across more than 52 countries and five continents, Aaron covers airlines, airports, aviation policy, and the wider travel sector. He is based in Canterbury, New Zealand. His work has been published in Simple Flying and featured by MSN, SAM CHUI Aviation & Travel, EIN News, Pakistan Defence, and Climate Depot. Star Alliance carrier Singapore Airlines has only ever ceased flying to one United States airport: Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). The airport has had a unique history with the Asian carrier, which has operated to the Texan airport through a unique fifth freedom of the air. Initially, the airline flew from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) to Houston via Russia, before opting for a new route via the United Kingdom in 2016. The service was eventually shelved last year. Singapore started flying to Houston via Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME) in 2006, and picked this route due to energy-related traffic that was in demand between the two airports. This route was changed to Manchester Airport (MAN) in 2016, before being axed completely in March 2025. Singapore Airlines' One-Stop Flights To Houston Via Moscow & Manchester Credit: Michael Derrer Fuchs | Shutterstock From Singapore to Houston is a route that Singapore Airlines couldn't justify flying nonstop, which saw the airline look to pick up traffic between other countries. Initially operating via Russia's largest city, Moscow, the service was flown with the airline's Boeing 777-300ER. The flight held the history of the longest one-stop flight, which has since been overtaken by China Eastern's Shanghai to Buenos Aires routing. With Singapore flying via Russia, it is now the only airline to offer nonstop flights between Singapore and Moscow, with additional capacity between two growing energy hubs, Moscow and Houston. The airline would pick up travelers at either end, or halfway, on one ticket, or separate tickets. Loading map… Drag to explore Ultimately, Singapore opted to switch the route from Moscow to Manchester in 2016, and this continued through until 2025. Initially, the new routing was operated with the same aircraft type as seen in Moscow, the 777-300ER, before being switched to the modern Airbus A350-900 from January 2017 through until March 2025. Connecting Major Energy Hubs Credit: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock While flights from Southeast Asia to North America can often transit via Northern Asia or Europe, very few in recent history have ever connected via Russia. The move by Singapore Airlines set the airline apart as it looked to target corporate and executive (high fare-paying) travel demand between oil capitals. The service was the first-ever direct flight connection between the two cities, and also provided onward travel to and from Singapore. Singapore operated this flight as a fifth freedom service, which allows the airline to pick up local passengers on the Moscow and Manchester to Houston sectors, in addition to those flying from Singapore. The decision to move away from Moscow ultimately came when the Russian ruble started to struggle, and the demand on the route dried up. During its reign, the Houston schedule operated as detailed in the table below. Route Airline Frequency Aircraft SIN-DME-IAH Singapore Airlines 4x Weekly Boeing 777-300ER SIN-MAN-IAH Singapore Airlines 5x Weekly Boeing 777-300ER / Airbus A350-900 The airline then decided to move the service via Manchester, where it could then tap into Northern England and the UK market, where no other airline offered a direct Houston service. Passengers would often connect from Scotland, on Loganair, via Manchester, for onward travel to Texas. Low load factors ultimately led to the cancellation of the Manchester to Houston leg, where some flights only sold 30% full. The Remaining US Cities Served By Singapore Airlines Credit: BoeingMan777 | Shutterstock According to data from Cirium, an online aviation analytics company, just five US cities have Singapore Airlines flights. New York City and Los Angeles are the biggest markets by number of departures, as detailed in the table below. Destination Airport Frequency Flight Details Newark (EWR) Daily Airbus A350-900ULR nonstop New York (JFK) 2x Daily 1x Airbus A350-900ULR nonstop 1x Boeing 777-300ER via Frankfurt Los Angeles (LAX) 17x Weekly 10x weekly Airbus A350-900 nonstop, 1x daily 777-300ER via Tokyo Narita San Francisco (SFO) 2x Daily 1x Airbus A350-900 nonstop, 1 x Airbus A350-900ULR nonstop Seattle (SEA) 5x Weekly Airbus A350-900 nonstop Singapore Airlines has also previously served Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) via Vancouver International Airport (YVR). It attempted this one-stop routing through Canada between 2021 and 2023.