United Airlines flew its first nonstop flight from Chicago to Israel on Thursday.
The airline now offers nonstop service three times a week between Chicago O’Hare Airport and Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport.
United celebrated the inaugural flight, which was announced in July, with a gate celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring officials from the airline and Deputy Chicago Mayor Samir Mayekar.
In addition to Chicago, United currently operates nonstop service between Tel Aviv and its hubs in Newark/New York and San Francisco, and is expected to resume service between Washington and Tel Aviv on Oct. 25.
“Throughout 2020, United has been the only carrier to maintain continuous daily service between the U.S. and Israel,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network and Alliances. “As we continue rebuilding our international network, we look forward to offering customers more opportunities to travel between the United States and Tel Aviv.”
The airlines has also increased its current Tel Aviv service from its New York/Newark hub in August from daily to 10 weekly flights and is scheduled to resume service between Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv in October.
In July, United resumed its nonstop service between San Francisco and Tel Aviv three days a week.