Which Airlines Fly to Israel Right Now? Your Honest Guide to Flights to Israel
Updated: 37 minutes ago
You want to fly to Israel this winter, and every website you check seems to give you a different answer about which airlines are actually landing at Ben Gurion.
I live here, I watch the departure boards, and I am going to give you the honest picture as of late October 2026. Ben Gurion Airport has been fully open since April, after the ceasefire that paused the war with Iran. The terminals work normally and thousands of travelers land every day. What makes trips hard to plan is the habit some foreign airlines have of vanishing whenever the region heats up, which leaves travelers with cancelled tickets and higher fares.
Airlines with flights to Israel this winter
Here is the list that matters if you are booking right now.
Israel's own carriers are flying full schedules. El Al serves more than forty destinations and adds a new nonstop route between San Francisco and Tel Aviv from October 25. Israir started its first route to the United States, to New York JFK, on October 19. Arkia and Air Haifa complete the Israeli lineup, and Arkia also flies to New York.
From the United States, United Airlines returned to Newark in September and is adding Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles this weekend. Delta is back on its New York JFK route, although its Atlanta flight stays paused until the middle of December. American Airlines has pushed its return all the way to March 2027, and Air Canada is still missing.
From Europe the picture is far better than it was in the spring:
Lufthansa Group: Lufthansa, Austrian, SWISS, Eurowings and ITA are all flying to Tel Aviv.
Air France and KLM: Air France has run a daily Paris route since July, and KLM returned to Amsterdam in August.
British Airways and Iberia: both return on October 25, with British Airways flying once a day from Heathrow instead of its old twice daily schedule.
Low cost and regional: Wizz Air, Aegean and Air Europa are operating, and Brussels Airlines is due back after October 24. easyJet and Ryanair are still staying away.
Further afield, Etihad, Ethiopian Airlines and Hainan Airlines all resumed service in the spring, along with smaller carriers such as Smartwings, Georgian Airways and FlyOne. Air India has said it plans to return in December.
One route is closed for now. flydubai suspended all flights to Tel Aviv after the cockpit attack on flight FZ1073 on September 30, and Emirates suspended its codeshare on the route at the same time. Until that investigation ends, the direct Dubai connection that so many travelers relied on after the Abraham Accords is off the board.
My advice before you book
If certainty matters to you, book with an Israeli airline. Every time the skies reopened during this war, El Al, Arkia and Israir were the first back in the air, and they ran rescue flights to bring stranded Israelis home while other carriers were sending cancellation emails. That record is worth something when you are paying for a ticket.
If you choose a foreign carrier, read the change and cancellation terms before you pay. Several airlines postponed their return to Israel more than once this year, and a flexible fare costs far less than a ruined trip. Check your flight status a few days before departure as well, because schedules in this region can still change with little notice.
Give yourself extra time at Ben Gurion on the way home. Israeli security screening is thorough and the lines grow long on busy days, so plan to arrive about three hours before an international departure.
People ask me every week whether it is safe to fly to Israel. Ben Gurion runs some of the strictest airport security anywhere in the world, the airport has operated normally for more than six months, and the country is full of tourists, pilgrims and families visiting loved ones. Follow your government's travel advisory, buy decent travel insurance, and then come and see it for yourself.
Schedules change often, so confirm with your airline before you book. This guide reflects routes announced as of October 24, 2026, and I will keep updating it as more airlines return.
An airline that runs away at the first headline is making a business decision, and you are free to make a better one by flying with the people who never stopped coming. Bruchim haba'im, welcome to Israel. I will see you at Ben Gurion.
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