Delta Air Lines is resuming flights to Tel Aviv on Tuesday, becoming the first U.S. carrier to restart service following the Houthi missile attack on Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport earlier this month.
The Atlanta-based airline confirmed to JNS that it will restart daily nonstop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv. The first flight to Israel is scheduled to depart on Tuesday afternoon, with the return flight to New York set for Wednesday morning.
Delta’s decision to lead the return of U.S. carriers to Israel puts it ahead of its main rival, United Airlines. The Chicago-based airline has postponed the resumption of its twice-daily Newark-to-Tel Aviv service until mid-June, following an extension of its temporary suspension.
It remains unclear whether Delta’s move will prompt United to accelerate its return to the Israeli market.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation, and will make decisions on resuming service with a focus on the safety of our customers and crew,” United said in a statement.
A Delta spokesperson told JNS on Monday that all flights to Israel were fully booked through next week, underscoring strong demand despite ongoing regional tensions.
Meanwhile, Dallas-based American Airlines has yet to resume service to Israel and has remained absent from the market since suspending operations following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The May 4 Houthi missile attack, which breached both U.S. and Israeli missile defense systems and landed near Ben-Gurion Airport, triggered a wave of cancellations by international airlines. The disruption came just as major foreign carriers had begun resuming service to Israel this spring.
