After New York, United renews flights from Chicago and Washington to Tel Aviv

US carrier United Airlines announced on Thursday that it will revive direct flights from Chicago and Washington to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport starting in November, after an almost two-year hiatus.

For the first time since the outbreak of war with the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023, United will resume service to Tel Aviv from international airports Chicago O’Hare on November 1 and Washington Dulles, a day later, on November 2.

“The resumption of these flights underscores United’s longstanding commitment to Tel Aviv,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of Global Network Planning and Alliances.

The Chicago-Tel Aviv route will be operated four times per week, and the Washington-Tel Aviv flight service three times per week.

United said it now “offers more flights to Tel Aviv than any other US airline and will be the only airline operating flights between Tel Aviv and both Chicago and Washington DC.”

“United’s service to Tel Aviv always follows a detailed assessment of operational, safety, and security considerations in the region,” the US airline stated.

The expansion comes after United resumed flight services from New York’s Newark airport to Tel Aviv on July 21, becoming the first US airline to return to Israel following the country’s war with Iran. US carrier Delta restarted its route between Tel Aviv and New York’s John F. Kennedy airport on September 1, with seven weekly flights.

All foreign airlines halted flight services to and from Tel Aviv after Israel’s airspace was closed on June 13 with the outbreak of fighting against Iran, which ended 12 days later with a US-brokered ceasefire. The suspension of flights left tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad.

Since then, multiple European carriers have gradually started to resume service to Tel Aviv, while others including British Airways, and low-cost airlines easyJet and Ryanair, have yet to announce a date for restarting flights to and from Tel Aviv.

Since the outbreak of war in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on Israel, US airlines have repeatedly canceled and resumed their flight services to and from Tel Aviv, including during Houthi missile attacks on Ben Gurion airport, leaving Israel’s connection to the US largely in the hands of local flag carrier El Al. Earlier this year, smaller Israeli rival Arkia launched direct flights on the Tel Aviv-New York route.

During a meeting on Wednesday with United executives in the US, Transportation Minister Miri Regev discussed the airline’s commitment to further expand flight routes to Israel from additional destinations in the United States.

“United’s announcement is great news for Israelis and those visiting from abroad,” said Regev. “The resumption of flights from Chicago and Washington shows that Israel remains connected to the world even in challenging times.”