An American Airlines passenger airplane takes off from LAX airport in Los Angeles, April 16, 2015. (Wikimedia Commons/Eric Salard)

(JTA) — American Airlines announced over the weekend it would not be resuming flights to Israel until September 2025, extending an existing pause by an additional six months and potentially sparking a cascade of other airline delays in resuming regular Israel service.

The move makes American Airlines the first United States-based carrier to push back flights to Israel until at least the second half of 2025, amid a swath of cancellations affecting most non-Israeli airlines.

Delta and its partner airlines currently have pauses on Israel flights through March, while United Airlines has not set a return date yet for its own Israel flights.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Many carriers suspended flights to Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and have delayed their return to the region citing renewed security concerns including the expansion of regional conflict into Lebanon and Iran. Others resumed flights after Oct. 7 but suspended them amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, which has included multiple missile barrages from Iran.

The scarcity of flights and their frequent interruptions have made traveling to and from Israel an expensive, often madcap process. To manage costs, many travelers are opting to fly first to a European city that has budget service before connecting to their final destination — although several budget European airlines, including EasyJet and Ryanair, have also suspended service to Israel through at least spring 2025.

The Israeli carrier El Al is currently the only airline offering direct flights between the United States and Israel. El Al’s effective monopoly on the service since Oct. 7 resulted in an investigation over price gouging and a change in policy that locked in flight rates to and from some European cities.

In a statement, a spokesperson for American Airlines told the Jewish News Syndicate that customers who had already bought flights could get a full refund or exchange them for another airline.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount