Delta Air Lines will resume flights to Tel Aviv in april: United also expected

US-based airlines are slowly planning to return to Tel Aviv, Israel, including Delta Air Lines’ , which has confirmed the relaunch of flights to the city on April 1.

Returning to Israel

Delta Air Lines has confirmed to Bloomberg that starting April 1, the carrier would resume flights to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV).

Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium's Diio Mi airline planning tool showed that Delta Air Lines plans to operate daily flights between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Tel Aviv starting in April.

For now, the schedule is valid until June, and it could be updated within the next few days or weeks.

Before the war between Hamas and Israel broke out on October 7, 2023, Delta Air Lines operated 15 weekly flights to Tel Aviv, including six weekly itineraries from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), New York-JFK, and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) in September 2023.

The carrier’s travel advisory for Israel said that it had extended its waiver for all customers booked on flights to/from Tel Aviv, allowing them to rebook their flights on available flights through June 1, 2025.

The impacted travel dates are between October 7, 2023, and March 31, 2025, with the ticket having to be reissued before the latter date.

United and American's potential return

According to a report by an Israel-based business outlet Globes, industry sources said that United Airlines could resume flights to Israel as soon as February, becoming the first US-based airline to return to the country following the breakout of another war in Israel, this time against Hezbollah.

The carrier’s Jetstream site, a dedicated business portal for its corporate customers and agency partners, indicated that flights to Tel Aviv and Amman Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) have been suspended until further notice. In a short statement to Simple Flying, the carrier said,

“Our flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended at this time.”

In September 2023, United Airlines had 22 weekly flights from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), San Francisco International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Tel Aviv.

It also operated three weekly flights from/to Washington-Dulles to Amman, Jordan.

Meanwhile, American Airlines’ corporate travel website, Saleslink, said that following the latest update to its travel exception policy, impacted travel dates to Israel are from October 7, 2023, to April 29, which previously was until March 29, 2025.

However, it was updated in August 2024. Simple Flying has approached American Airlines for comment.

EL AL’s dominance

Cirium’s Diio Mi data showed that EL AL, Israel’s de facto flag carrier, is the only airline flying from Tel Aviv to the United States in Q1.

The carrier’s network includes destinations such as Boston, Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Miami International Airport (MIA), Newark, and New York-JFK.

However, EL AL has allegedly used its dominant position to increase ticket prices during the war.

According to its Q3 2024 results presentation, the Israeli airline increased its market share from around 20% before the war to around 40% now, with its peak market share in Tel Aviv being as much as 81%.

The airline was forced to cap prices on specific destinations and introduced fixed price ranges on key markets, including North America, where the ticket price ranges from $799 to $1,900.

Furthermore, institutional shareholders and other stakeholders forced the carrier to cancel the options and shares plan for its chief executive officer (CEO) Dina Ben Tal-Gnancia and Chairman Amikam Ben Zvi, capping the former’s salary to NIS 130,000 ($36,266) per month, according to a report by Israel’s ynet.

Several non-US carriers have announced their return to Israel, including but not exclusive to British Airways (April 5), the Lufthansa Group (February 1), and Wizz Air (already began servicing the country on January 13).

In total, airlines have scheduled 1,191 weekly flights to Tel Aviv in April, compared to 855 weekly flights during the same month in 2024, representing an increase of 39.3%, Cirium's Diio Mi data showed.