Tel Aviv service still limited

Ben Gurion Airport is open again, but reopening the runway did not bring back the airline map people were used to. British Airways is still offering refunds and rebooking flexibility for Tel Aviv trips booked through October 31, 2026, Delta says Tel Aviv travel is disrupted through September 5, 2026, and United’s nonstop New York route is still suspended through at least September 7. (britishairways.com) (delta.com) (timesofisrael.com) That leaves Israel’s main airport looking open on paper and constrained in practice. Israel’s Transportation Ministry said full operations at Ben Gurion resumed on April 9, 2026, after a ceasefire was announced, but it also said foreign airlines would return only gradually because each carrier still needed approvals from regulators in its own country. (timesofisrael.com) The shutdown that broke the market started on February 28, 2026, when fighting with Iran closed Israel’s airspace to most foreign airlines. Israeli carriers kept some limited flights going in March mainly to bring stranded Israelis home and let other travelers leave, which meant the normal mix of dozens of competing airlines was gone for more than a month. (timesofisrael.com) When a route loses competitors, the remaining seats start behaving like concert tickets for a one-night show. The Times of Israel reported in March that fares for coming weeks had already risen 15% in 10 days as Israeli airlines gained a dominant position during the war. (timesofisrael.com) The carriers still flying are mostly El Al, Arkia, Israir, and Air Haifa, and they are trying to add frequencies and restore schedules. But adding a few more flights is not the same as replacing British Airways, Delta, United, Lufthansa Group, and other foreign airlines that usually bring in a huge share of seats from Europe and North America. (timesofisrael.com 1) (timesofisrael.com 2) The split is especially sharp on United States routes. Delta’s own advisory says Tel Aviv is affected through September 5, 2026, and Delta’s newsroom said on March 25 that its New York and Atlanta service pause runs through that date, while the planned Boston route is delayed until further notice. (delta.com) (news.delta.com) That matters because nonstop flights from New York are one of the biggest pipes feeding business travel, tourism, and family visits into Israel. With United and Delta both out for most of the summer, travelers are pushed toward Israeli airlines or one-stop itineraries through Europe, and both options usually mean fewer seats and higher prices. (timesofisrael.com 1) (timesofisrael.com 2) Europe is starting to come back, but in small pieces rather than a wave. Bluebird is set to resume Athens flights on April 12, 2026, Smartwings on April 15, and Wizz Air said it plans a gradual restart from April 25, while bigger network carriers are still waiting. (timesofisrael.com) (marketwatch.com) British Airways’ wording shows how airlines are thinking about the risk. Instead of promising a quick restart, it is giving customers refunds for Tel Aviv bookings through October 31, 2026, even if a flight is still showing in the system, which tells you the schedule is less a promise than a placeholder. (britishairways.com) So the airport has reopened, but the market has not normalized. A runway can reopen overnight, but rebuilding an international flight network takes regulators, crews, aircraft rotations, insurance decisions, and a ceasefire that airlines believe will hold longer than a few days. (timesofisrael.com) (britishairways.com)