Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres has sent an unusual letter to American airlines demanding the resumption of flights to Israel.
“I am deeply concerned about the halt in air travel between the United States and Israel,” Torres began. “The suspension has lasted so long and been so comprehensive that El Al, an Israeli airline, is now the only airline offering direct flights from America to Israel. The lack of competition has made flights to Israel less available and less affordable, leaving customers at the mercy of a de facto monopoly that can drive up prices with impunity.”
Torres then hinted at a possible boycott by some airlines: “Airlines should be prohibited from effectively boycotting or otherwise discriminating against the world’s only Jewish state. It is one thing to temporarily suspend air service to Israel for safety reasons as defined by the FAA, but suspending air service unilaterally and indefinitely until mid-2025, as American Airlines has done, has the practical effect of a boycott,” he wrote.
“Given the arbitrary length of the suspension, one might think that the BDS movement had taken over the American airline industry without anyone noticing, let alone calling foul. By what logic and in what universe is it safe for El Al to fly to Israel, but too dangerous for American Airlines, Delta and United?”
He further pointed out that “UAE airlines such as Etihad, FlyDubai and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi continue to fly to Israel without incident.”
