Delta
Air Lines is gambling that the war between Israel and Gaza, which has been
raging since October, will be over or much less severe by the spring.
Delta
plans to revive
its flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel
Aviv.
Most
major airlines opted to suspend operations in Israel after the war began. Delta
halted operations in the Middle East until April 30 while American suspended
flights until the end of October. United Airlines resumed service between New
York and Tel Aviv on March 6. The airline utilized its hub at Newark Airport in
New Jersey.
Delta
will restart its New York to Tel Aviv route on June 7.
The
carrier will be utilizing an Airbus A330-900neo.
The resumption of the flight seems natural, as New York City and the surrounding region in the northeast have a large Jewish population.
Currently, the flight from New York to Tel
Aviv is scheduled to leave at 11:40 at night and arrive the next morning. The reverse route is expected to leave at almost midnight Israeli time and arrive in New York the next morning. Earlier this year, many European airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France and LOT resumed flights to Tel Aviv.
Delta didn’t completely abandon Israel, however.
The Atlanta-based carrier established a codeshare agreement with
EL AL Israel Airlines. The situation will be fluid, however, as the airline
said, it will continuously monitor the safety situation. It could adjust or
disband the flight as needed. It is also possible that other large airlines
that serve the international community could resume flights from major American
cities later this year.
Delta
began canceling its flights to Israel three
weeks after the war broke out.
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