Delta Air Lines has extended the suspension of flights between New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport and Israel's international airport, Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), until Dec. 31 due to ongoing and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, has been engaged in heightened conflict with Israel along the border. Over 37 people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured in a two-day incident in Lebanon after Hezbollah communications equipment exploded, an event the group has blamed on Israel.
As a response, the Atlanta-based airline announced the suspension of direct flights between JFK and TLV through the end of the year as hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah intensify along Israel's northern border with Lebanon. This extension follows a prior suspension set to end on Sept. 30.
"Delta flights between New York-JFK and Tel Aviv will be paused through Dec. 31, due to ongoing conflict in the region," the airport said in its official statement. But bookings for New York-Tel Aviv flights were still available on Sept. 19 due to its code-sharing agreement with El Al, the national carrier of Israel.
The airline has reassured the public that impacted customers will be notified of cancellations through the Fly Delta app and the contact details provided in their reservations. Delta is actively processing these changes and will continue to monitor the security landscape. The airline stresses that the safety of its customers and crew remains the highest priority. (Related: Delta Air Lines bans over 100 people from flying with them for refusing to comply with company's mask mandate.)
"Customers impacted by the schedule change will receive notifications via the Fly Delta app and contact information listed in their reservation as these cancellations are processed in Delta's system," the company said.
Delta has also issued a travel waiver for customers with bookings to or from Tel Aviv through Dec. 31, allowing them to seek refunds or rebook their flights until March 1, 2025. Passengers are encouraged to stay informed of potential further disruptions, as Delta warns of possible additional cancellations on a rolling basis, depending on security developments.
However, as the conflict in the region evolves, Delta Air Lines advises its customers to prepare for possible adjustments to the Tel Aviv flight schedule.
Major airlines in the U.S. and Europe extend and reintroduce flight cancellations to Tel Aviv
This move mirrors a similar action among other major airlines that have extended or reintroduced flight cancellations to Tel Aviv.
For instance, United Airlines, Inc., another major airline headquartered in Chicago, also removed all flights to Israel from its booking system in August. United has stated that its flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended indefinitely and will resume "as soon as it's safe for our customers and crew." American Airlines, too, has halted its Tel Aviv flights until March 2025. This, in turn, left El Al as the sole airline currently offering direct routes between Israel and the U.S.
European carriers have also followed suit. Croatia Airlines has suspended its flights without announcing a return date, while Spain's Vueling initially canceled services until October but has now removed flights from its schedule until January 2025. LOT Polish Airlines resumed flights to Israel on Sept. 6 and the Lufthansa Group, including Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, restarted flights on Sept. 5, with services to Tel Aviv expected to pause again until Sept. 19. Flights to Beirut from these airlines will not resume until Sept. 30.
Meanwhile, Air Baltic has stated that it will soon restart its flights to Israel. Ryanair, Ireland's low-cost airline, has canceled flights to the country until Oct. 26. Air India has suspended services until at least Oct. 24, with ticket sales on hold until Oct. 27. Spanish airline Iberia had previously extended its cancellations until Aug. 28 and Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) Airways resumed flights on Sept. 3.
Other major carriers like Air France will not resume flights to Israel until at least Oct. 26, while low-cost airline Transavia has canceled all services until March 31, 2025.
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