United Airlines announces resumption of flights to Tel Aviv
Starting March 15, the airline will fly daily between Newark Liberty International Airport and Ben Gurion Airport

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
United Airlines Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner on January 24, 2025.
United Airlines announced plans on Tuesday to resume its service to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey beginning on March 15.
United’s decision to restart flights to Israel comes after a 16-month hiatus in operations to the Jewish state since the war broke out in October 2023 following the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7, with the exception of two brief periods in 2024. The resumption of flights comes weeks after a temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war went into effect.
“This resumption follows a detailed assessment of operational considerations for the region and close work with the unions who represent our flight attendants and pilots,” the airline said in a statement. “United has a longstanding commitment to serving Tel Aviv, and this return will make United the first U.S. airline to resume service this year.”
The airline said a second daily flight is planned to begin March 29, but did not provide details on the route.
Before the war, United operated 28 weekly flights to Tel Aviv — 14 from the New York area and the rest from various destinations in the U.S., including Chicago, Washington and San Francisco. United suspended operations on Oct. 7, 2023, and only briefly resumed in March 2024, suspending operations again when Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel that April. In June, United began operating flights to Tel Aviv again — but suspended them by August, amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The announcement follows a similar one from Delta Airlines last month that it will restart daily nonstop service from Tel Aviv to New York’s JFK Airport on April 1. American Airlines, which has not operated flights to and from Israel since Oct. 6, 2023, has not announced plans to resume Israel flights.
For more than a year, Israeli airline El Al has been the only consistent option for direct travel to and from America, leading to a shortage of flights to meet travelers’ demand and soaring ticket prices. The long pause has led to much debate among lawmakers and high-profile figures over whether the airlines’ decisions were influenced by internal and external political pressure.