El Al to operate 6 flights to New York to repatriate US citizens stranded by war

Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel

An El Al plane takes off at Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, March 5, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
An El Al plane takes off at Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, March 5, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Israel’s flag carrier El Al will launch special flights tomorrow to help thousands of US citizens who’ve been stranded in the country since the outbreak of the Iran war to return home.

As part of an agreement with the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Jerusalem, El Al will operate six nonstop flights from Tel Aviv to New York designated exclusively for US citizens.

The flights are expected to depart at full seat capacity and will not be subject to the current 100-passenger cap per outbound flight, pending government approvals.

It was unclear why the flights would be permitted to operate at full capacity while restrictions remained on all other outbound flights from Israel.

El Al says it will proactively contact US citizens holding valid El Al flight tickets whose flights were canceled and have not yet been reassigned, and will offer them placement on the dedicated flights.

Tickets for these special flights will also be available for purchase to US citizens who do not hold El Al tickets via registration on the airline’s website.

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