American Airlines hiring signals possible return of US-Israel flights after two-year pause

Job postings for bilingual Hebrew and English flight attendant trainees were observed in several locations including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (LaGuardia), and Washington (DCA). Previously, American operated flights from New York (JFK) and Miami (MIA) to Tel Aviv.

Industry observers note that it is standard practice for airlines to hire cabin crew fluent in languages spoken at their destinations. A recent ceasefire in the region could lead operators to expect greater stability and improved security conditions.

American Airlines relaunched its Israel service in 2021 with flights from New York JFK starting in May and from Miami International in June. Plans for a Dallas-Tel Aviv route were announced but never implemented. The Miami service ended in March 2023; New York flights were suspended in October 2023 after conflict escalated in Gaza. Initially set as a temporary suspension until December 2023, the halt has continued for over two years.

In January 2025, Senator Ted Cruz called on U.S. carriers to resume flights to Israel: “I felt the suspensions were a ‘politically motivated boycott instead of a genuine safety concern.’”

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have since resumed their operations into Israel but have experienced temporary suspensions during periods of heightened conflict or attacks near Ben Gurion Airport. Currently, American’s only Middle Eastern destination is Doha, Qatar via daily flights from Philadelphia using Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

While American does not operate US-Israel routes at present, there are still numerous options available for travelers between the two countries. According to Cirium data—an aviation analytics provider—there are now 64 scheduled weekly flights across seven routes connecting the US and Israel via four different airlines.

El Al leads with 39 weekly round-trip services linking Tel Aviv with cities such as New York JFK, Newark Liberty, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale; its busiest route is JFK-TLV with up to two daily departures each way. United Airlines follows with twice-daily Newark departures; Delta offers daily service from New York JFK; Arkia recently entered the market with four weekly Airbus A330-200 flights leased from GullivAir.

The most frequently served corridor is JFK-TLV with 25 weekly frequencies followed by EWR-TLV at 23 per week. In addition to direct links between the US and Israel, passengers can access over 330 weekly US-Middle East connections through other carriers such as Emirates (Dubai), Qatar Airways (Doha), and Saudia (Jeddah).

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