Air India announced on Monday that it will resume flights to Israel in December, after a suspension caused by the regional war with Iran.
The move comes amid a resurgence in travel to and from Israel following the war, with most major international carriers already flying to Tel Aviv.
The Indian flag carrier will offer five weekly nonstop flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv starting on Dec. 1.
The six-hour flights, which will run Sundays through Thursdays, will fly over Saudi Arabia and Oman, shortening travel time.
Like most foreign carriers, Air India suspended flights to Israel after the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, returning only intermittently to Tel Aviv over the last three years amid regional tensions.
Israel’s national carrier, El Al, has not flown to India since 2020, when it canceled flights to Mumbai during the COVID pandemic, leaving Israeli travelers to the popular Asian country without a direct line for most of the last six years.
Israel has asked Oman for permission to cross its airspace again, which will reduce travel time for Israeli carriers on flights to India and the Far East by two hours. Oman, which granted Israeli carriers such permission in early 2023, rescinded it after the outbreak of the war against Hamas in Gaza later that year and has not acceded to the request to date.
