From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 15, 2025
El Al cancels all flights till June 17, and dozens of flights until June 23, amid preparations to rescue stranded Israelis
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel
El Al announces that all flights are canceled through June 17, since Israel’s airspace remains closed for landings and takeoffs due to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure and Iranian missile and drone barrages.
Dozens more flights are canceled through June 23, even if some flights resume, to allow the airline to divert the planes for an operation to return thousands of Israelis stranded abroad.
The affected destinations are: Berlin, Tbilisi, Barcelona, Batumi, Warsaw, Rhodes, Munich, Tivat, Lisbon, Tokyo, Krakow, Venice, Thessaloniki, Marseille, Crete (Heraklion), Kefalonia, Santorini, Chisinau, Belgrade, Tirana, Porto, Mykonos, Lefkada, and Moscow.
“We understand the difficulty, uncertainty and stress experienced by El Al customers abroad who wish to return to Israel, as well as customers whose plans have been disrupted,” El Al says in a statement.
“When approval is received from the relevant security and aviation authorities, we will do everything in our power to enable as many Israelis as possible to return home by gradually resuming a regular flight schedule, and operating rescue flights from destinations close to Israel.”
El Al says it will update its website and social media channels “when the option to book tickets for these flights opens (subject to approval to resume operations).”
“Registration for rescue flights will be done via a dedicated link on the El Al website,” El Al says. “The only way to reserve a seat on these flights is through registration on the El Al website only (registration at call centers will not be possible).”
The Times of Israel Community.