Israel’s flag carrier, El Al, announced Sunday that it will launch six non-stop flights to New York starting on Monday to help thousands of U.S. citizens who have been stranded in the country since the outbreak of the Iran war to return home.
The flights, which are designated exclusively for American citizens as part of an agreement with the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, will operate at full capacity and will not be subject to the current 100-passenger limit per outbound flight.
It was not immediately clear why the flights would be allowed to operate without the restrictions imposed on all other outbound flights from Israel.
El Al says it will proactively contact U.S. citizens holding valid El Al flight tickets whose flights were canceled and have not yet been reassigned, and will offer them placement on the flights at no extra charge.
The national carrier stated that it is also prepared to expand these flights for additional American citizens, recognizing that this is only a partial solution due to the high demand.
With the war against Iran entering its third week, no international airlines are currently flying to Tel Aviv, with only limited flights on Israeli carriers.
