Philadelphia International Airport now has direct flights to Cape Cod

As of last week, travelers can fly from Philadelphia International Airport to Cape Cod, and more new flights could be on the horizon.

American Airlines will offer a daily round-trip flight between PHL and Cape Cod Gateway Airport (HYA) in Hyannis, Mass., from June 19 to Sept. 2 for the first time.

“We take great pride in connecting our customers to new and exciting places like Cape Cod and its 15 charming towns, stunning beaches, fresh seafood, and rich history,” Lakshman Amaranayaka, the airline’s vice president of PHL operations, said in a statement.

A round-trip flight leaving on Friday, July 11, at 10:25 a.m. and returning on Sunday, July 13, at 12:20 p.m. in basic economy costs $396 per person, according to the airline’s website as of Tuesday.

The flight to Cape Cod, on an Embraer 175 aircraft, is roughly an hour-and-a-half, compared to a six-hour journey by car from Philadelphia.

American Airlines was the largest airline operating out of PHL last year in terms of passengers, with nearly 20 million passengers traveling through PHL in 2024, the airport reports. To support these operations, American Airlines employs over 8,600 people in the Philadelphia area.

The airline schedules flights a year in advance and will evaluate whether to offer the summer service to Cape Cod again based on performance and demand, according to spokesperson Bri Harper.

“We’re enthusiastic about the range of new destinations that American has launched at PHL in 2025, connecting Philadelphians not only to the beaches of Cape Cod [for the] first time ever, but to domestic destinations like Des Moines and Omaha, and international destinations like Milan and Edinburgh,” chief commercial officer Kate Sullivan said in a statement.

Iberia, a Spanish airline, plans to expand its service to Philadelphia for the first time, the airline announced last week, though flights are not yet available.

It’s part of the airline’s strategic plan, which also includes adding service to Toronto, Canada, and Monterrey, Mexico. The airline also aims to add more airplanes to its fleet and hire more employees.

Iberia currently has 165 aircrafts and flies to over 140 cities around the world, according to its website.

“PHL continues to work closely with Iberia to build the case for them to serve PHL-Madrid and are enthusiastic for them to eventually start service,” said Heather Redfern, airport spokesperson on Tuesday via email.

Iberia currently has no start date for service out of Philadelphia, Redfern said, and details on how frequent its flights would be are not available.

PHL has been looking to offer more international routes, and recently increased incentives for airlines that add locations not currently served by the airport.

The airport is offering airlines up to $4 million in incentives if they add year-round service to an international airport in certain places that are not currently connected to Philadelphia with a direct flight, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. Those areas are Asia, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, Central America, and South America. While the airport already offers incentives for airlines to add service, this is a financial increase of 77%, the Business Journal reported.

The airport’s international offerings had already increased in the past year or so.

Aeroméxico started offering daily flights from Philadelphia to Mexico City this month. American also began flying to Milan, Italy, from Philadelphia in May and brought back service to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Last summer, American Airlines launched new flights from PHL to Copenhagen, Denmark; Nice, France; and Naples, Italy.