United and Delta Airlines announced on Wednesday the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv due to escalating security tensions in the Mideast.
The decision by the two American legacy carriers follows the back-to-back assassinations of a top Hezbollah leader in Lebanon and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, which again leaves Israel’s flagship carrier El Al as the only airline offering direct service to and from the United States.
“Beginning with this evening’s flight from Newark Liberty to Tel Aviv, we are suspending for security reasons our daily Tel Aviv service as we evaluate our next steps,” United Airlines said in a statement sent to JNS.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on resuming service with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews,” it added.
The statement did not specify when flights would resume.
Delta Airlines said it was suspending its daily New York flight to Israel through Aug. 2 “due to the ongoing conflict in the region,” but noted that the flights can be rebooked on partner airlines El Al and Air France.
At least five other carriers—Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air India and FlyDubai—also canceled flights to the Jewish state.
Most foreign carriers suspended service to Israel following Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war, but then slowly resumed service this spring.
