United Airlines looks set to become the first US carrier to restart flights to Israel after announcing plans to resume services between Newark Liberty International Airport (ERW) in New York and Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv.
After fighting broke out in the region between Israelis and Palestinians in October 2023, many international operators took the decision to stop flying to Israel
However, United Airlines has confirmed that from March 2, 2024, flights to TLV from ERW will resume with a stop in Munich to ensure all service providers are “ready to support non-stop service to and from Newark”.
Following the first flight, the next scheduled trip is planned for March 4, 2024 – there will be no services on March 3, 2024, or March 5, 2024.
Then from March 6, 2024, United said it will relaunch a daily nonstop service to the Israeli coastal city.
United said in a statement on February 21, 2024, that it had carried out a “detailed safety analysis” with help from security experts and government officials in the US and Israel before announcing the resumption of flights.
“This is the first step in restoring passenger and cargo service and comes after tireless collaboration between security experts and government officials, as well as the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants, to develop protocols to ensure our employees and customers are safe and well-informed,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby wrote in a LinkedIn post.
United will continue to monitor the situation in Tel Aviv and adjust the schedule if the need arises. But if all goes as planned, the carrier hopes to add another daily flight from ERW to TLV in May 2024.
Previous operations from San Francisco Airport (SFO), Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) and Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) will be evaluated for resumption in autumn.
It is understood that Delta Air Lines is looking to restart flights to Israel in May 2024 while American Airlines will not fly there until at least October 2024.
Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Aegean and Air France have already restarted services to Israel.
