In Welcome Move for Israel Travel, Delta and Virgin Atlantic Announce Return to Tel Aviv

More flights to Israel: It is both a welcome development for travelers to the Middle East and an elbow to Israel’s armchair vilifiers as the country steels itself against the economic fallout of its war against Hamas.

Following the outbreak of hostilities last October, and again following Iranian strikes against Israel in April, several major airlines suspended service to Tel Aviv. Yet the world’s largest airline by revenue, Delta, as well as a codeshare partner, Virgin Atlantic, will soon be resuming their flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.

Delta’s nonstop daily service to Tel Aviv from New York’s JFK will resume on June 7. Separately, in a press statement on Monday, Virgin Atlantic confirmed that on September 5, it “will resume flying between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv, for the first time since October 11, 2023,” and that “flights will operate daily on board the airline’s Airbus A330 aircraft, offering connections through Heathrow from 11 US cities with optimal connectivity from key US hubs including New York (JFK).”

 In addition, Delta recently announced a new codeshare agreement with El Al, and Virgin Atlantic on Monday announced a similar pact with Israel’s flag carrier.

According to a press release, “the two airlines will place codes on their respective London Heathrow and Tel Aviv services, allowing customers greater flexibility, frequencies with up to four daily flights, and choice when selecting travel” between America and Israel. The launch and on sale date of the Virgin Atlantic code on El Al is June 10.

Delta’s equipment on the JFK-Tel Aviv route will be the Airbus A330-900neo, with the resumption of service meaning an addition of nearly 2,000 seats weekly between New York City and Israel. According to a press statement, the decision to resume the route on June 7 followed an extensive security risk assessment by the airline. The statement added that “Delta continues to closely monitor the situation in Israel in conjunction with government and private-sector partners.”

In a statement, Virgin Atlantic’s chief commercial officer, Juha Jarvinen, said that “as we celebrate our 40th anniversary this month, we know that giving our customers more choice and award-winning service in the skies is what fuels our success, alongside working with the best partners. Our return to Tel Aviv on September 5 will be welcome news for our customers who have enjoyed our service since 2019, and this time round it’ll be strengthened further by our new codeshare partnership with EL AL.”

Aviation aficionados have long appreciated Virgin Atlantic’s innovative, often brash approach to air travel and Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, Shai Weiss, is one of the most articulate and respected executives in the industry. 

Travel, and the ease of it or lack thereof, is often a bellwether of the economic or political health of a given country or destination, and Israel has in recent months and for well-known reasons been experiencing severe turbulence on both the economic and political fronts. Investments in Israel are in an increasingly precarious state — and that is happening as more and more countries are lining up to recognize a Palestinian state. 

There is also a growing danger of economic boycotts of Israel extending to individual travelers. The Maldives, for one, has just “resolved to impose a ban on Israeli passports,” according to that island nation’s president. The decision poses definite risks to both Israeli citizens and those with dual Israeli and American citizenship. 

In that respect, the decision by two of the world’s major airlines to restore service to Israel, even as it grapples with unresolved strategic issues, is a vote of confidence in the country. 

Bruno Mars’s cancellation of his Tel Aviv concert last October may now seem like a distant memory, and Israel in the summer of 2024 is a changed country. Yet more flights going in and out means more mobility and economic activity, plus more cold water for Israel’s detractors.