Delta Air Lines follows United with major destination change

For the last five months, it has not been easy to fly to either Israel or any of its neighboring countries. After the Oct. 7 attack by fundamentalist group Hamas left more than 1,400 Israelis dead and prompted the Israeli government's military response, most international airlines canceled flights to Israel and even Jordan.

While Israel's flagship El Al  (ELALF)  resumed flights in a few weeks, United Airlines  (UAL)  became the first U.S.-based airline to restart its flight between New York and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)(initially with a stopover in Frankfurt to give partner airlines like Lufthansa  (DLAKF)  the chance to restart their schedules as well.)

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On March 14, Delta Air Lines  (DAL)  announced that it would also be restarting its JFK-Tel Aviv flight on June 7. The nearly 12-hour flight has been suspended since October 2023 but will soon resume running daily for a total of 2,000 seats moved between the two places weekly.

Delta says decision 'follows an extensive security risk assessment by the airline...'

"The decision to resume the route on June 7, 2024, which was temporarily suspended in October 2023, follows an extensive security risk assessment by the airline," Delta said in a statement on the situation. "Delta continues to closely monitor the situation in Israel in conjunction with government and private-sector partners."

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The flight will take place on an Airbus A330-900neo  (EADSF)  and is unchanged from the route that would run daily before the escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict.

Prior to the attack on Oct. 7, Delta ran flights from JFK, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). United, in turn, also ran Tel Aviv flights from San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. that it is also planning to resume by the fall of 2024.

American Airlines may join Delta and United in the fall

As travel from New York sees the highest demand, these flights will help airlines both assess the safety situation and evaluate booking interest before deciding whether it is prudent to restart more routes. 

Over the last five months, Delta has also been working with partner airline El Al for customers who were used to booking flights through their Delta account or were collecting points with frequent U.S.-Israel flights.

"In recent months, Delta has strengthened its presence in Israel through a codeshare arrangement with El Al Israel Airlines," the airline said further. "Delta customers have access to El Al's direct services to Tel Aviv from major U.S. cities like New York-JFK, New York-Newark, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Fort Lauderdale."

With Delta and United now both resuming service, American Airlines  (AAL)  is the only major U.S. carrier that has yet to commit to restarting its Israel flights. Prior to last fall, the Fort Worth-based airline had flights to Israel both from JFK and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (D

In the past few months, the airline had issued statements saying that it was "working closely with our partner airlines" but was not planning to restart service until the fall of 2024 at the earliest.