Israel Flights Are Back—And United Airlines Is First on the Runway

Chicago-based airline restarts Tel Aviv service July 21, ending month-long suspension due to Middle East tensions

United Airlines will resume flights to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport on July 21, becoming the first U.S. carrier to restore service to Israel following a month-long suspension due to regional tensions.

The Chicago-based airline moved up its restart date by 10 days, originally planning to resume service no earlier than July 31. The decision follows easing tensions between Israel and Iran that had forced flight cancellations across the Middle East.

United suspended its Israel service on June 12 as Israeli and Iranian forces exchanged missile fire during nearly two weeks of heightened conflict. The tensions affected flight operations at major regional airports including Dubai, Doha, Istanbul and Amman, with several countries closing their airspace as a precautionary measure.

The airline will operate twice-daily flights from Newark Liberty International Airport using Boeing 787-10 aircraft. Flight UA84 resumes July 21, departing Newark at 3:30 p.m. and arriving in Tel Aviv at 8:55 a.m. local time. Flight UA90 resumes July 22, departing at 10:50 p.m. and arriving at 4:20 p.m. local time.

“This resumption is in line with United’s longstanding commitment to serving Tel Aviv. Throughout 2025, United has flown to Tel Aviv more than any other U.S. airline. United service to Tel Aviv always follows a detailed assessment of operational considerations in the region and close consultation with the unions representing our flight attendants and pilots,” United said in a statement.

United has faced repeated service interruptions to Israel since Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. The airline first resumed Israel flights March 15 after a nearly nine-month suspension, only to halt service again in early May when a Houthi rebel missile from Yemen struck Ben Gurion Airport. Service briefly resumed June 5 before the latest suspension.

Delta Air Lines, which serves Tel Aviv from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, remains suspended until Aug. 31. Delta resumed service April 1 after pausing flights in July 2024 but was forced to suspend operations from May 3-20 and again from June 20 onward, according to the airline’s June 13 update.

American Airlines has not operated Israel flights since October 2023 and has not indicated plans to resume service. The carrier told France24 it has “nothing new to share at this time regarding Tel Aviv service.” American temporarily suspended its Philadelphia-Doha route last month but has since resumed operations. The Qatar route represents American’s sole Middle East service.

El Al and Arkia currently provide the only U.S.-Israel flight options. El Al operates 52 weekly flights from the U.S. to Israel as of July 2025, serving Tel Aviv from Boston, Newark, Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK, Los Angeles and Miami. Arkia markets five weekly flights from JFK, operated by Bulgaria’s GullivAir.

The week of June 22 marked a particularly tense period in the Middle East as Israel-Iran tensions peaked. Gulf countries including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace, severely impacting flight activity in a region home to some of the world’s busiest airports, particularly Dubai International Airport.

Following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, regional tensions have eased and flight operations are gradually returning to normal. The European Aviation Safety Agency lifted restrictions on Israel flights Monday, prompting several European carriers to announce service resumptions, including Wizz Air, Aegean, the Lufthansa Group and Air France.