American Airlines will be flying nonstop between Philadelphia and Naples, Italy, starting May 5, 2025. Delta also added service between Atlanta and Naples and will initiate a route between New York and Catania, Sicily, which is near Naval Air Station Sigonella. (Facebook/Aeroporti Napoli e Salerno)

Defense Department personnel serving in Italy could have an easier time traveling home starting next year, following new service announcements from Delta and American Airlines.

Beginning in May, Delta will run four-times weekly service between Atlanta and Naples, where thousands of U.S. Navy sailors are based.

Also in May, the carrier will start offering a daily route serving New York and Catania, becoming the first U.S. airline to offer direct flights to the Sicilian city, which is near Naval Air Station Sigonella.

Delta already operates a direct route between New York and Naples.

American Airlines announced this month that it will add a daily nonstop flight from Miami to Rome starting July 5, 2025.

Also, the airline’s seasonal service between Philadelphia and Naples that began this summer will kick off on May 5 next year.

Getting to and from Italy will be easier next year as a variety of airlines are adding direct flights between the U.S. and the country. Beginning in May, Delta will offer new service between Atlanta and Naples and between New York and Catania, Sicily. American Airlines will start its Philadelphia-Naples service earlier in the year in 2025. (X/Delta)

Italy hosts nearly 30,000 U.S. service members, DOD civilians and accompanying family members, according to the State Department. That’s the second-largest permanent presence among countries in Europe.

Besides the two naval installations, the Pentagon has Aviano Air Base and U.S. Army Garrison Italy, which has posts in Vicenza and near Pisa.

In March, Delta brought back daily nonstop service between Atlanta and Venice and also between New York and Venice. The Vicenza base is about 40 miles west of the Venice airport and Aviano is slightly farther away to the north.

United Airlines has not announced its 2025 summer schedule yet. This year, it offered nonstop seasonal service between Rome and the U.S. cities of San Francisco, Chicago and Washington as well as Chicago-Milan and New York-Naples routes. The summer flights are on top of the airline’s regular schedule, which includes year-round nonstop flights from New York to Rome and Milan.

U.S.-based airlines aren’t the only ones expanding service. As of June, Italian airline Neos has been operating a summer flight between New York and Palermo, Sicily. Saturday is the last day of operation this year on that route.

An estimated 216 million people were expected to visit Italy this summer, according to the Italian Federation of Tourism, which expects that number to grow in 2025.