US-Based Airlines Halt Flights to Israel As Tension Rises

As the security situation in Israel continues to become more tense, three United States-based carriers that regularly operate flights to Tel Aviv have decided to pause their flights. This week, the airlines that have already canceled most of their Tel Aviv-bound flights are Delta Air Lines,  United Airlines, and American Airlines.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine has reached new heights, with rockets targeting Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport. Since then, the airport has been closed temporarily, and flights have been redirected to other airports nearby.

At the time of this report, American Airlines already put out a travel alert for flights to Tel Aviv between May 12 and 25. In addition, the airline has canceled its AA146 flights from New York JFK on Wednesday and Thursday and returning AA145 flights.

Passengers will not have to pay any change fees across all fares as long as they don’t mind traveling between now and June 15. However, the airline states that the passenger’s origin and destination details must remain the same. They must book into the same cabin, and passengers must have purchased their original ticket on or before May 12.

Similarly, Delta Airlines has also canceled its service, citing “operational disruptions.” Passengers booked to travel to Tel Aviv between May 11 and 13 can also rebook their initial ticket free of charge to travel up to May 17. According to Delta’s travel advisory notes, “If travel is not able to be rescheduled within these guidelines, customers may cancel their reservation and apply any unused value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for a period of one year from the original ticket issuance.”

United Airlines is the third US carrier to pause its flights to Israel. Citing unrest in the Middle East, passengers already booked on flights to Tel Aviv between May 11 and May 25