JERUSALEM, Oct 26 (Reuters) - American Airlines ( AAL )

said on Sunday it would resume flights to Israel in March, after

the U.S. carrier halted the New York JFK to Tel Aviv route

following Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the

two-year war in Gaza.

American said it would re-launch its flights from JFK on

March 28.

U.S. rivals Delta and United have already

resumed flights to Israel.

Many foreign carriers halted flights to Tel Aviv after

October 7 and stayed away for long stretches during the past two

years due to intermittent missile fire from Iran and Yemen.

That largely left flag-carrier El Al Israel Airlines

, and smaller Israeli airlines Arkia and Israir

, operating international routes, but with demand far

higher than supply, airfares soared.

In the wake of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel

and Palestinian militant group Hamas, many foreign airlines have

restarted flights to Tel Aviv. British Airways, SAS, Iberia and

Swiss are slated to resume flights this week.

When American resumes flights, it will become the fifth

carrier to fly nonstop to Israel from the United States, along

with El Al, Arkia, Delta and United.

In addition to daily flights from Newark, United later is

expected to also add flights to Tel Aviv from Washington

(November 2) and Chicago (November 1).

Passenger traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport near

Tel Aviv was up 25% over the first nine months of 2025 to 13.6

million, according to the Israel Airports Authority. El Al's

market share dropped to 32.5% from 44% a year earlier.