Delta Air to resume flights to Israel starting 7 June

Delta Air Lines said late on Wednesday that it will resume flights to Israel starting 7 June, becoming the second major US carrier to do so following the 7 October Hamas attack on the occupation state, Reuters has reported.

The airline said that it will begin daily flights between New York’s John F Kennedy Airport and Tel Aviv following an extensive security risk assessment. United Airlines resumed flights to Israel earlier this month from Newark but does not plan to restart flights from other US cities until at least next autumn.

According to Delta, it will offer about 2,000 seats weekly from New York to Israel and “continues to closely monitor the situation in Israel in conjunction with government and private-sector partners.”

United, American Airlines and Delta all suspended US service to Israel in October following the Hamas attack.

Restarting US carrier flights to Tel Aviv signals a potential turning point for travel to Israel. Tourism has dried up due to security fears following the Hamas incursion and subsequent, ongoing Israeli bombardment and invasion of Gaza in which at least 31,000 Palestinians have been killed by the apartheid state, most of them children, women and the elderly.

Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Aegean and Air France are among other airlines that have restarted flights to Tel Aviv.

READ: Germany says Israel abiding by international law as Gaza death toll surpasses 31,000