Major US airlines extend flight bans to Israel

Summary

Due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East, Delta, United and American Airlines have extended their flight bans to Israel.
International airlines such as Ryanair and the Lufthansa Group have also suspended their flights to Tel Aviv in the wake of the conflict.
Some airlines had to divert their flights to avoid airspace in the region, resulting in longer routes for some services.

As the situation in the Middle East remains unstable, major airlines around the world, including the three major US carriers, continue to suspend flights to Israel. Delta Air Lines has extended its flight suspension until the end of September, while United and American’s suspensions will also continue for several more months.

Delta extends flight ban

Delta Air Lines has extended the suspension of flights to Israel until September 30. Nonstop traffic between the US and Israel has once again been severely affected following the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Delta A330-300 climbing shutterstock_2477789259

Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock

Delta had already decided to suspend Tel Aviv-New York JFK flights in August. However, given the tensions in the Middle East, the airline has decided to play it safe and extend the suspension until the end of September.

United and American flights remain suspended

Beginning of the month United Airlines had also suspended its Tel Aviv flights from Newark indefinitely due to security concerns. The airline was flying daily between the two airports and will now closely monitor the geopolitical situation before resuming operations.

A few days ago it was reported thatAmerican Airlines has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until March 29 The airline has not operated flights to Tel Aviv since October last year. It said it would continue to work closely with its partner airlines to help customers traveling between Israel and European cities connect to the US.

American Airlines, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Photo: Abdul N Quraishi – Para | Shutterstock

Both United and Delta also suspended flights to Israel in 2023, but resumed operations earlier this year, only to be suspended again. United resumed flights to Tel Aviv in March, but suspended them again in April. It then resumed them in June, and Delta soon followed by resuming its own service between New York JFK and Tel Aviv. Currently, the only nonstop service between the United States and Israel is provided by El Al.

Global airlines also suspend flights to Tel Aviv

As the conflict in the Middle East continues, many international airlines have also decided to cancel flights to Israel. The European budget airline Ryanair has also cancelled its Tel Aviv flights until at least 30 September, citing “Operational limitations beyond our control.” The airline had plans to connect Tel Aviv with seven destinations, including Athens and Berlin.

The Lufthansa Group, which also includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings, has also decided to extend the suspension of flights to Israel and a number of other destinations in the Middle East until at least August 26.

Lufthansa Airbus A320 shutterstock_2303949153

Photo: Gabe Smith | Shutterstock

Earlier this month, Air India also announced a suspension of flights to Israel due to tensions in the region, saying that passengers on affected flights would receive a one-time waiver of rebooking and cancellation fees. Wizz Air, LOT and ITA have all joined the list of airlines that have suspended flights to Israel in recent weeks.

Airlines have also had to reroute some of their routes and avoid Iranian, Israeli and Lebanese airspace. Flights by major airlines connecting Asia and Southeast Asia with Europe and North America continue to avoid airspace in the region, resulting in slightly longer routes and flight times.