American Airlines hasn’t flown to Israel in years, but a recent move suggesting a shift proved correct. AA will resume service between New York and Tel Aviv in spring 2026 after a multi-year hiatus.

American Airlines Returning to Israel In Spring 2026, Hiring Hebrew-Speaking Flight Attendants

Unlike Delta and United, American hasn’t operated service to Israel in over two years, and until now, it hasn’t even publicly floated plans to resume. But last week, JonNYC flagged that American is now hiring Hebrew-speaking flight attendants, a move that often precedes route announcements.

Sure enough, American is planning to resume daily nonstop flights between New York (JFK) and Tel Aviv (TLV). starting March 28, 2026 and will operate the following schedule:

• New York (JFK) – Tel Aviv (TLV) dep 11:25 PM arr 5:00 PM+1 day
• Tel Aviv (TLV) – New York (JFK) dep 12:35 AM arr 5:25 AM

AA will utilize a Boeing 777-200 jet for the route.

Historically, American’s Israel service has been inconsistent. The carrier only entered the U.S.–Israel market in 2021, launching routes from both New York and Miami. It planned to add Dallas–Tel Aviv in 2022, but that never materialized. Then in March 2023, American cut its Miami–Tel Aviv route, before the war even erupted.

By contrast, United has been the U.S. carrier most committed to Israel. Delta has also maintained intermittent service and is broadening its relationship with EL AL, the Israeli flag carrier. American, though, lacks those advantages: no joint venture tie-in in the region, and no deep Israel network.

As I suspected, AA was not hiring cabin crew fluent in Hebrew for its New York – Florida routes. Airlines generally staff multilingual flight attendants when launching or relaunching routes to markets with distinct languages. And as I predicted, if American did relaunch, New York–Tel Aviv was the most logical candidate for return, as it is arguably the most stable, highest-demand U.S.–Israel corridor. AA, which faces aircraft shortages and takes a more conservative approach to its network, is starting with one role.

I still think it makes a lot of sense for  American to add a Philadelphia–Tel Aviv flight, a route that US Airways once operated but was abandoned when it merged with American Airlines over a decade ago. While the New York market faces direct competition from Delta, EL AL, and United, AA would face no nonstop competition in Philadelphia.

Of course, demand alone doesn’t guarantee success. America’s previous Israel effort ran into geopolitical headwinds and even as we pray for peace in the region, the peace right now is very fragile, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning earlier today that Gaza faces another invasion if the outbreak of infighting violence there is not quelled.

CONCLUSION

AA will return to Tel Aviv next year with flights from New York on a 777-200. American’s Hebrew-speaker hiring proved a compelling clue that it was ready to reenter the Israel market and JFK proved a stronger option than PHL for the first route.