Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, is calling on U.S. airlines to resume flights to and from Israel after they suspended service last summer amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Cruz, who has been tracking this issue since Oct. 7 in his capacity as the top Republican on the committee, made the comments during an appearance on the “Nothing But The Truth” podcast, hosted by NORPAC New York’s co-president, Trudy Stern. 

“I think it is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel. At this point with every day that goes on, it appears more and more to be a politically motivated boycott instead of a genuine safety concern. It was one thing right at the outset of the war when it was unclear what was going to happen,” Cruz told Stern. “It was one thing to take a step potentially in terms of preserving safety.” 

“It’s another thing now. Right now today, El Al is flying every day. You have regional airlines in Europe that are flying regularly to Israel. The UAE’s airline flies three times a day to Israel. And I got to say, every indication is that this is, this is a politically motivated boycott. One example is if you look at the largest of the flight attendant unions, they have been vigorously anti-Israel, calling for boycotts of Israel, and sadly, speaking out in support of the antisemitic protests on college campuses here in the United States. I think it’s time for the American airlines to return to flying to and from Israel,” he continued.

Cruz, who will have jurisdiction over the airline industry in his capacity as chair of Commerce, vowed to “use my authority and oversight authority to press for that to be done. I just became the chairman yesterday, so we’re less than 24 hours into it, but I think we will get the job done.”

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed Cruz’s call in a social media post over the weekend, writing on X on Saturday that the Commerce Committee chairman was correct in pushing for U.S. carriers to resume service. “Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz is right: it’s past time for airlines to resume flights to Israel. There’s no excuse not to,” Pompeo said. 

Cruz also received praise from pro-Israel groups for his comments, with AIPAC and Christians United For Israel publicly thanking him on social media for his advocacy on this issue. AIPAC lauded Cruz “for pressing this issue and standing with our ally Israel,” while CUFI thanked him “for speaking out.”

Except for two brief periods in 2024, none of the three major U.S. airlines that offer direct service to Israel  — Delta, United and American — has flown to Tel Aviv since the war broke out on Oct. 7. El Al is the only option for travelers looking for direct flights from the U.S. to Israel, and the limited supply of flights has left passengers facing rising prices and few options.

American Airlines announced last August that it would extend its suspension of flights to Israel through April 2025, without providing an explanation for its decision. 

An airline spokesperson told JI in a statement at the time, “To provide additional flexibility, we will extend our travel alert allowing customers whose travel plans are impacted by this adjustment to rebook without a fee or cancel and receive a refund. We will continue to work closely with our partner airlines to assist customers traveling between Israel and European cities with service to the U.S.”

Delta Airlines announced days later that it would not fly to Israel until Sept. 30, 2024 — months after revealing since-scuttled plans to resume flights from New York’s JFK Airport to Tel Aviv in June. Delta announced just before the Sept. 30 deadline that it was extending its suspension through April 2025. 

United Airlines suspended flights to Israel indefinitely after it briefly resumed limited service last March.