American Airlines to end Israel flights
Company cites financial considerations as basis for decision to terminate Tel Aviv-Philadelphia route
American Airlines announced it would discontinue operations in Israel and would terminate all flights to and from the country as of January 2016.
The company cited financial considerations as the basis for its decision.
American Airlines said its last flight to Israel is scheduled for January 4, from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv, and the return flight, scheduled for January 5, will by the company’s last from the country, Ynet reported. Customers who reserved spaces or purchased tickets for flights after January 5 were contacted by the company, which offered to reimburse them or find alternative solutions.
All 19 American Airlines employees based in Israel are expected to lose their jobs after the company ends operations in the country.
Since merging with US Airways last year, American Airlines had operated Tel Aviv-Philadelphia flights on a daily basis. For the five previous years, daily Tel Aviv-Philadelphia flights were carried out by US Airways.
About 95,000 passengers had flown on American Airlines’ Philadelphia-Tel Aviv flights since the beginning of 2015, according to Ynet.