American Airlines isn’t expected to resume flights to either Tel Aviv, Israel, or Doha, Qatar, until January 2027 due to the continuing security situation in the Middle East and uncertainty over whether a lasting peace deal can be struck with Iran.
In the case of Tel Aviv, extending the suspension of services through to early next year will mean that American Airlines won’t have served Israel for three years and three months when flights finally restart.
AA
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) May 17, 2026
TLV and DOH reportedly suspended through 5JAN27.
According to sources cited by trusted aviation insider Jon NYC on X, the Texas-based carrier is planning to resume flights on January 5, 2027, hoping that the long lead time will mean that there aren’t any security concerns in the region when services finally restart.
American Airlines first suspended flights between New York JFK and Tel Aviv in October 2023, following the Hamas terror atrocities perpetrated against Israel.
While Delta and United Airlines both attempted to resume flights to Tel Aviv over the next two years, American Airlines refused to even consider returning to Israel until a long-term peace deal with Hamas had been agreed upon.
In October 2025, it looked like American Airlines was finally preparing to resume flights to Tel Aviv following a personal appeal by Israel’s Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev, during a meeting with AA executives during an official trip to the United States.
The route was planned to be operated daily by a Boeing 777-200 with the outbound flight departing New York JFK at 11:25 pm and arriving at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport the following evening at 5 pm.
To mark the resumption of flights, American Airlines was going to use the flight number AA-18 for the outbound flight. In Jewish culture, the number 18 holds special significance and corresponds to the Hebrew word chai, which means ‘life.’
Flights were expected to restart on March 28, 2026, but then the joint US and Israeli military offensive against Iran started, throwing American’s plans into disarray.
Neither Delta nor United Airlines has yet resumed flights to Tel Aviv:
- Delta intends to resume Atlanta to Tel Aviv flights on November 30, 2026.
- Delta’s New York JFK to Tel Aviv service will, however, resume on September 6.
- A planned new Delta service between Boston and Tel Aviv has been suspended until further notice.
- United Airlines currently plans to resume flights to both Tel Aviv and Dubai on September 7, 2026.
American’s suspended Doha service
American Airlines suspended flights to the Qatari capital Doha on March 1 when the US/Israeli military operation on Iran started.
At the time the strikes began, American Airlines’ daily flight AA-120 from Philadelphia to Doha had just passed Spain en route to Qatar. Rather than diverting the flight to an alternative airport, the pilots were ordered to return all the way back to Philadelphia.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner performed a U-turn over the Mediterranean Sea and flew back over the Atlantic Ocean, arriving back where it started more than 16 hours in a ‘flight to nowhere’ of epic proportions.
American Airlines first started flying from Philadelphia to Doha in 2022, when the airline settled a bitter dispute with Qatar Airways over alleged government subsidies.
At the time, the business case for this route, aside from making up with Qatar Airways, seemed questionable. The route has, however, surpassed all expectations.
In fact, the wider deal between AA and Qatar Airways created the largest codeshare agreement in the industry, and many passengers on AA’s daily service between Philadelphia and Doha connect onto Qatar Airways flights to Lahore, Dhaka, Kathmandu, and Islamabad.
American is being far more cautious than Delta or United
American Airlines has long been criticized for its very conservative approach to international expansion, especially as United continues to add more and more international destinations.
The strange thing is, Tel Aviv is a guaranteed money spinner, so you would expect American Airlines to be taking a far more aggressive stance on attempting to resume flights to this destination.
In the meantime, Israeli flag carrier El Al continues to monopolise flights between the United States and Israel.
