Delta Air Lines announced on Monday (August 5th) that due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, the airline will suspend all flights from New York’s JFK International Airport to Tel Aviv, Israel for the month of August.
In a statement released on Monday, Delta Air Lines stated, “Due to the ongoing conflicts in the region, flights between JFK International Airport and Tel Aviv will be suspended until August 31st.”
Ticket sales for these flights have been halted. Passengers affected by the schedule changes will be notified through two channels: Delta Air Lines’ “Fly Delta” app and the contact information listed on their ticket reservation.
Seats on Delta Air Lines partners Air France and EL AL Israel Airlines are still available for booking through Delta’s website delta.com and Delta Reservations.
This decision follows the airline’s suspension of flights that began last week. Delta Air Lines announced the cancellation of some flights between JFK Airport and Tel Aviv from July 31st to August 2nd.
The company also announced last week that exemptions would be provided for flights to Israel scheduled before August 14th, allowing passengers to change their travel plans without paying fare differences.
Delta Air Lines’ latest statement on Monday comes amid threats from Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah to retaliate fiercely against Israel. Senior leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah were assassinated last week.
In its statement, Delta Air Lines said, “Delta Air Lines continues to monitor the evolving security situation and assess our operations based on security guidelines and intelligence reports, and will notify of any updates as needed.”
Previously, Lufthansa has also decided to suspend all flights to and from Tel Aviv for safety reasons.
Similarly, United Airlines last week suspended flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Tel Aviv citing “security reasons” until further notice.