Israel-Hamas War

United Airlines to restart flights to Israel for first time since start of Hamas war

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines also stopped flying to Tel Aviv after the war started and have not announced when service might resume

File photo: Two United Airlines Boeing 737s are parked at the gate at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 7, 2022.
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File

United Airlines says it plans to resume flights to Israel next month, reviving a route that was suspended in October at the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The airline said Wednesday that it will start flights from Newark, New Jersey, to Tel Aviv with a stop in Munich on March 2 and March 4. United said it hopes to begin daily service on March 6 and to add a second daily flight as soon as May.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines also stopped flying to Tel Aviv after the war started and have not announced when service might resume. Germany's Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines and Swiss brought back flights to Tel Aviv in January, followed by Air France. Other European carriers have said they plan to restart flights to Israel this spring.

The two regions hold important meaning in Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

United said it conducted “a detailed safety analysis” and consulted security experts and government officials in both countries before deciding to resume the flights. The airline said it also worked with the two unions that represent its pilots and flight attendants.

The Chicago-based airline said it will evaluate whether to resume flights this fall to Israel from San Francisco, Chicago and Dulles airport outside Washington, D.C.

Copyright The Associated Press
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