United Airlines is expected to resume flights to Israel in February, according to industry sources. In response, United Airlines said, “At this time, flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended,” but flights are not expected to resume until February 22nd. At this time, it is not possible to purchase round-trip tickets. Tel Aviv on the airline’s reservation system.
In normal times, United Airlines operated 28 weekly flights from Tel Aviv, with 14 to New York and the rest to various destinations in the United States, including Chicago, Washington, and San Francisco. The airline suspended its operations in Israel on October 7, 2023, and resumed operations in March 2024 with only seven weekly flights to New York. After Iran attacked Israel in April, another wave of flight cancellations began, and United joined them, but returned to Israel shortly after in June. The company remained open until the end of July, but then announced it would suspend services until further notice due to intensified fighting in the north.
By resuming operations in Israel, United would join Lufthansa Group, Air India, Air France and British Airways, which have already announced resumption dates.
Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz asserted that U.S. airlines would resume flying to Israel within 30 days. Cruz said in an interview in Washington that the grounding of the planes was politically motivated, not for safety reasons. He said the airline’s employee unions were involved, particularly the flight attendants union, which had expressed anti-Israel views. Cruz, who is nominated to head the Senate Commerce Committee, said steps could be taken to ensure flights resumed and that the issue would be resolved by the end of February.
United’s rival, Delta Air Lines, has said in the past that it would not resume flights to Israel until April 1, 2025, but is now considering bringing the restart forward. Delta tickets have been available for purchase to and from Israel since April, but travelers have been hesitant to book because the airline has not officially announced that it will actually resume flights on the scheduled dates. .
There is widespread optimism in the industry that Delta Air Lines’ return will take place, at least as planned, in April. Before the war, American Airlines also operated in Israel, but announced it would suspend operations until further notice.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 23, 2025.
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