Major international airlines are continuing to suspend flights to Israel amid the country’s ongoing war with Iran.
Delta Air Lines announced on Wednesday that it is extending its suspension of flights to Israel until June. The Atlanta-based carrier said its daily service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel Aviv is now expected to resume on June 1, while the planned restart of flights from Atlanta has been postponed until August.
United Airlines, historically the largest American carrier serving Israel, has frozen ticket sales for flights from its Newark hub to Tel Aviv until June 15, with some routes unavailable until September, according to travel agencies.
“It seems quite clear that no matter when President Trump decides to end the war in Iran, Passover and Easter travel have been severely affected,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Jerusalem’s Ziontours, told JNS on Thursday. “Most Israelis cannot get out of Israel for the holiday, and those who wanted to come to Israel find their flights canceled with no clear vision of when/if they will be reinstated.”
He added that El Al will benefit tremendously post-war, as confidence in foreign airlines once more reached a nadir, even as spring and summer fares are already up by 15%.
Since the outbreak of the war against Iran on Feb. 28, no foreign airlines have been operating flights to Tel Aviv. Only Israeli carriers are offering limited and restricted service, primarily focused on repatriation.
El Al canceled all regular scheduled flights through March 27 due to operational restrictions at Ben-Gurion International Airport and directives from the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command. The cancellations do not include special rescue flights, which continue to operate.
The airline listed dozens of affected destinations, including major European and U.S. cities such as London, Berlin, Boston, Barcelona and Vienna, as well as regional hubs such Larnaca and Tbilisi.
El Al said passengers whose flights were canceled are eligible for a full refund or a credit voucher, but that alternative flights are not currently available.
The disruption comes after Israeli authorities reimposed limits on outbound passenger traffic following damage to aircraft at Ben-Gurion Airport.
The Israeli Transport Ministry on Wednesday reinstated caps on passengers per flight after three private planes were damaged by falling debris from the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile earlier in the day. The move reversed a decision announced just two days earlier to increase the number of passengers allowed on departing flights.
Israel’s airspace has been largely closed to commercial traffic since Feb. 28. Earlier this month, Ben-Gurion partially reopened for limited inbound flights operated by the four Israeli airlines, El Al, Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa, which have helped bring home more than 100,000 Israelis stranded abroad. Another 20,000 are waiting to come home.
