Delta will begin operating daily “rescue” flights while Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport remains closed starting with a flight from Tel Aviv to JFK on 2/20 at 11:55pm.
United will operate daily rescue flights starting with flight 91 from Tel Aviv to Newark on 2/21 at 12:15am. United also plans to operate rescue flights from Tel Aviv to San Francisco.
This comes after the DOT insisted that US airlines be allowed to operate rescue flights like El Al.
Flights into Tel Aviv will be more heavily restricted and dates will alternate between Delta, El Al, and United.
United says that will fly flight 90 from Newark to Tel Aviv on 2/23 and 2/26 at 8:25pm.
Delta says that will fly flight 234 from JFK to Tel Aviv on 2/21 and 2/25 at 11:55pm.
It’s unclear how long Israel will keep Ben Gurion open for rescue flights only, but extensions seem inevitable.
Israeli citizens need to request special permission to enter or leave Israel here. Foreign citizens can leave without permission, but can’t enter Israel in most cases.
Have you received or been denied permission to enter Israel on rescue flights?
HT: yandmk
so seems like they will be flying every other day?
Safest for Israel to keep sky closed
No rescue
If you left stay where u are
Need to stop death now
Only for sports they allow 800!!!! People in WITHOUT quarantine while many of their own citizens are stranded and families are separated
Athletes follow rules. Israelis of all stripes tend to not follow rules.
I’m glad you aren’t the one making the decisions in the world.
Points availability?
They’re not allowing Israeli citizens out!? That reminds me of something….. communism!
Do you know anything about Israel. They tap everything.
Israel is not yet that bad. You still do not lose your job or go to jail for applying for an exit visa.
What’s the point of calling them ‘rescue’ ?
Just say the airport’s open but daily permits are limited to 2000 so there are far fewer flights?
+10000000000
Stop calling these “rescue” flights. They are merely a resumption of a very limited schedule. People on these flights aren’t being rescued, they are the lucky few who are allowed to travel by the totalitarian regime that Israel has become.
If you have a flight already booked with Delta for the same date and time as a TLV-JFK “rescue flight” what else needs to be done?
great question, anybody?
If you have a confirmed seat on that flight, and have permission to fly–fly! If you don’t have the permission, apply for it.
“United says that will fly flight 90 from Newark to Tel Aviv on 2/23 and 2/26 at 8:25pm.” And not other days? United has not cancelled the other flights as of yet. Are you certain they will be cancelled?
Wondering the same. My grandparents are booked on United flight from Newark to Tel Aviv on 2/21 and, as of today, United is still telling them that they are flying on 2/21.
I had them try to reschedule to the flight on 2/23 but it was already fully booked. United offered 2/22 instead.
“Foreign citizens can leave without permission” is that including dual citizens?
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=123066.0
Great! Now that they’re called “rescue flights” United just blocked all saver availability. Last night was wide open!
Maybe they just were all grabbed when this was first announced by Chaim Vchessed?
The Shabbos flights too?
Laughingstock of the world.
Now through March 7 – https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=123459.msg2406217#msg2406217
We have reservations on the 21st with United flight 90 from ewr to tlv and they have not been cancelled. How can I confirm your information from an official source?
Isn’t Dans Deal’s an official source
Israel is not a totalitarian country but a country that cares about the health of its citizens. By closing the airport we have prevented the spread of the virus. why don’t you worry more about vaccinating and testing your own citizens. The fact that America does not recognize the Israel green passport showing vaccination just shows which country is the totalitarian state. It is about time you all realized how advanced we are. I am proud to stay here in Israel where the medical care is the best in the world and we protect our citizens.
Be happy it is not like the good old days when you had to pay a $500 exit tax in order to leave. I do not understand how preventing someone from leaving protects them. The virus does not care if one goes for a funeral or just to visit the Empire State Building. If you are vaccinated you should be safe either way, and you need a negative test to enter both America and Israel.
Dan – does united reservations have any special designation to identify these “rescue flights”? I call daily for my booked flight (ua90) on the 22nd and they tell me it’s still scheduled to fly. thanks
Same for the UA90 on the 21st. Wondering when United will notify passengers of the cancellation officially.
How do I find out which United flights in the next two weeks are”rescue” flights? United doesn’t seem to know. The flight on Feb 23 at United is fully booked and the flight on Feb 26 flies on Shabbos. Plus, am seeing conflicting information about needing a covid test before entering Israel if you have a vaccine from Israel. Have the rules changed since the shut down extension until March 6? Can anybody clarify with source?