EVA Air plans to launch first direct flights between Taiwan and Washington-Dulles

EVA Air has planned to launch direct flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), becoming the first airline to directly connect the two airports since at least 2000.

During a press event on January 12, 2026, EVA Air announced that it would launch flights between TPE and IAD in July. According to the Central News Agency (CNA), Sun Chia-ming, the President of EVA Air, stated that the airline will have four weekly flights on the route, resulting in the carrier operating flights to 10 North American destinations.

The flights will also fill a gap for direct connections between Taiwan and the southeastern part of the US, Chia-ming added, detailing that EVA Air will deploy its Boeing 787-9s to operate the route.

However, the departure and arrival times, as well as the exact launch date, are being finalized, CNA noted. EVA Air’s booking engine showed that the current options of flying between TPE and IAD are via United Airlines’ connecting flights at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

According to Cirium’s Diio Mi, in July, the only airlines flying between TPE and the East Coast of the United States are China Airlines and EVA Air, with the two airlines offering four weekly and daily flights, respectively, from TPE to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

Cirium’s Diio Mi also showed that, at least since 2000, no airline has offered a direct TPE-IAD connection.

According to the tool, in July, Taiwanese carriers’ flights to the US, which also include STARLUX Airlines’ five routes to the US, will mostly concentrate on the West Coast of the country. The only outliers, barring the aforementioned JFK-bound routes, are EVA Air’s flights to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), as well as China Airlines and STARLUX Airlines’ direct TPE-PHX routes.

During the same month, the only routes from TPE to the continental US are Delta Air Lines’ flights from TPE to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and United Airlines’ TPE to SFO connection.

The big limitation for Taiwanese and US-based carriers is the fact that they are barred from using Russian airspace to operate their flights across the Pacific Ocean due to the tit-for-tat sanctions between Russia and the Western world following the former’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Not to mention Taiwanese airlines’ limitations when accessing China’s airspace.

Nevertheless, EVA Air should not be the only Taiwanese airline to launch more flights to the East Coast of the US. Speaking during a press event at JFK in July 2025, Chen Han-Ming, the President of China Airlines, said that the carrier is exploring its options to launch flights to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), IAD, and PHX, according to The Points Guy.

Meanwhile, when STARLUX Airlines took delivery of its first-ever A350-1000, it said that, while in the short term, the type will be deployed on Asian routes for crews to familiarize with the aircraft, it will be later used “on North American and European routes, becoming STARLUX Airlines' main aircraft for expanding its long-haul markets in the US and Europe […].”