United Airlines has announced that on March 15, it will restart flights between Newark and Tel Aviv, potentially becoming the first United States-based airline to do so.
Resuming flights to Tel Aviv
On February 4, United Airlines said that starting March 15, the carrier will resume daily flights between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV).
“This resumption follows a detailed assessment of operational considerations for the region and close work with the unions who represent our flight attendants and pilots.”
The airline stated that its flights to Tel Aviv would be operated on the Boeing 787-10. When the airline last served the Israeli city between March 2024 and August 2024, it also utilized the largest 787 to connect Newark and Tel Aviv, according to the aviation analytics company Cirium's Diio Mi airline planning system.
For a while, these were United Airlines’ only connections to Israel since it suspended the majority of its services to the country that had been involved in two separate wars with Hamas and Hezbollah, two terrorist organizations as defined by the US Department of State in October 1997.
Double-daily flights to Tel Aviv
United Airlines added that from March 29, the airline will add another daily flight between Newark and Tel Aviv , also operated with a 787-10.
“United has a longstanding commitment to serving Tel Aviv, and this return will make United the first U.S. airline to resume service this year.”
The carrier also pointed out that it also offers flights to Tel Aviv via its codeshare agreements with Lufthansa Group airlines. On January 16, the group said that it would resume flights starting February 1.
Flightadar24 data showed that all network carriers within the group, including Austrian Airlines , Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways , Lufthansa , and Swiss International Air Lines ( SWISS ), resumed flights to Tel Aviv on February 1.
Lufthansa Group’s low-cost subsidiary, Eurowings , also returned to flying to the Israeli city from Dusseldorf Airport (DUS) and Hamburg Airport (HAM).
Beating out Delta Air Lines
United Airlines noted that it will continue to evaluate opportunities to add additional flights to Israel based on demand.
The last time the carrier operated an extensive schedule to Israel was in October 2023, just before the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, after the latter’s militants crossed the border and launched a series of attacks against the former’s civilians and military.
In October 2023, it had scheduled flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), which were operated by either the 787-8 (from Chicago and Washington-Dulles) or the 777-300ER (San Francisco), according to Cirium's Diio Mi.
