United to become first US airline to resume Israel flights

22.02.2024 - 22:11 / thepointsguy.com / El Al

United Airlines is set to resume Israel service early next month.

The Chicago-based carrier announced Wednesday that it would become the first U.S. airline to resume flights to Tel Aviv, following the suspension of service related to the war between Israel and Hamas.

United, which has historically been the largest U.S. airline serving Israel, scrapped all of its Tel Aviv flights in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

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American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, the two other U.S. carriers serving Israel, also stopped flying to the country after the attacks.

Following these suspensions, Israel's flag carrier El Al remained the only airline serving the U.S.-to-Tel Aviv market.

But now, nearly six months later, United is ready to resume service, albeit on only one of its four Israel routes.

Here's the latest on when airlines are returning to Israel.

United will resume one of its two frequencies to Tel Aviv from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) beginning March 2.

The airline's Flight 84 and Flight 85 — the early afternoon departure from Newark and the day flight from Tel Aviv — will be the first frequency to resume.

United will operate these westbound flights with a technical stop in Munich on March 2 and 4. No Newark departures to Tel Aviv are planned for March 3 and 5.

United will then resume daily nonstop service to Tel Aviv beginning March 6.

"United conducted a detailed safety analysis in making this decision, including close work with security experts and government officials in the United States and Israel. We also worked closely with the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants to develop the protocols to ensure they are safe and well-informed," the airline said in a statement about the resumed service.

United plans to restart its second daily Newark-to-Tel Aviv flight in May, followed by service from Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in the fall.

The resumed flights are now available for booking on United's website, but just note that the carrier will "continue to monitor the situation in Tel Aviv and adjust the schedule as warranted."

In recent years, Delta has been busy building its Israel network with new flights from Atlanta and Boston, joining the airline's existing service from New York.

Delta exited Israel entirely in October, but it plans to resume service from New York beginning May 1, according to Israel's aviation authorities. TPG reached out to Delta to confirm the resumption date and will update the story if we hear back.

Flights from Atlanta and Boston aren't currently available on Delta's website, and there's no published resumption date.

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