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El Al to launch direct flights to Argentina, starting this fall

The new non-stop service comes amid burgeoning relations between Jerusalem and Buenos Aires.

El Al
An EL AL aircraft takes off from Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, January 2026. Photo by Matt Kaminsky/JNS.

Israel’s flag carrier El Al plans to launch direct flights from Tel Aviv to Buenos Aires this fall, marking a renewed push into the South American market.

The nonstop service, which comes amid growing relations between the two countries, is expected to begin by November, JNS has learned.

“Today, a dream I have pursued with all my effort since taking office as Ambassador begins to become a reality,” Argentinian Ambassador to Israel Axel Wahnish posted Wednesday on X. “It is the concrete result of the strategic relationship that President Milei has built with Israel, and of an investment that the Israeli government has decided to make in response to that relationship.”

Javier Milei, who has emerged as one of the most vocal supporters of Israel globally, is expected to visit the Jewish state this spring and has repeatedly pledged to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem.

El Al operated flights to Brazil more than a decade ago, but its short-lived service to São Paulo was discontinued in 2011.

Argentina’s Jewish community is the largest in Latin America, with an estimated 170,000 members, most of whom reside in the capital.

Etgar Lefkovits, an award-winning international journalist, is an Israel correspondent and a feature news writer for JNS. A native of Chicago, he has two decades of experience in journalism, having served as Jerusalem correspondent in one of the world’s most demanding positions. He is currently based in Tel Aviv.
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